Best Drill Instructor/Drill Sergeant stories

When I was in boot (way back in '85), I got tonsillitis after returning from Christmas break. I wound up in the hospital for a couple of days. The Senior Drill showed up on my day of discharge (he was a HUGE as in BUILT like a bear!), and escorted me down to his car. When I got in, and we started to drive off, he asked "What sort of music do you like? I replied "Rock..." He said "OK" and switched his radio from the Jazz station he liked to the nearest rock station. Asked me if that was Ok, and I said sure. We talked a little small talk, and he asked me a few questions. As soon as we got back to the barracks, we got out of the car. He said "You know the drill" and then he winked and started yelling "TROOP! You better MOVE your F***ing *SS now! GET BACK IN THOSE BARRACKS! YOU THINK BECAUSE YOUR SICK YOU CAN JUST SCREW OFF!?? YOU BETTER DOUBLE TIME!" I broke into a double time with the biggest grin on my face I'd ever had - Him yelling was all for show. After that, all my stress about basic was completely gone...

There was an Airman Special in on of my sister flights. When we were still in BDUs without name tapes, a TI walked up to him because he chuckled.

TI: What, do you think you are special?
AB: Sir, Airman Special reports as ordered!
TI: you have gotta be kidding me...
AB: Sir, Airman Special reports as ordered!
After about what seemed like 5 minutes of this back an forth (prob really only 2) the AB loses it and breaks the position of attention, pulls out an ID and says "Sir, seriously, my name is ACTUALLY Airman Special. The TI just turns around an walks off.

Oh geeze. Lots of them. Boot was interesting. I'll post one or two at a time

We shipped from MEPS Phoenix. Some one screwed up the arrival time so we showed up at about 1800. None of the DI's were there yet so non- DI Marines started to check us in. First half of initial check in was calm and quiet. Not like you saw in the movies. It hit the fan a few hours later but the bottom line is we were in the rack before midnight and well before the rest of the company who arrived at 2100 (or abouts) like they were supposed to.

First revelie went off next morning and we all got out of the rack. The trash can flew down the aisle like in the movies. One person didn't get up. The DIs got in his face "GET UP'!!!! "NO" was the reply. The top rack, complete with recruit, went 6 feet in the air. He never made that mistake again.

Context - Day 1, Privates just coming off the bus from Reception, me talking to an IET Soldier who barely came up to my navel
Me: "How tall are you, Private?"
PVT: "4 foot 8 First Sergeant"
Me: "Does your mom know you're out playing Army?"

Epilogue - that Soldier damn near became my Soldier of the Cycle
Moral of the story - DO NOT, DO NOT, DO NOT pre-judge the size of the dog in the fight. Rather, judge the size of the fight in the dog.

There was a guy in my platoon whose name was pronounced "Carryon" The first day the DSs asked him what his name was. He answers, "Carryon, Drill Sergeant!" Took the poor guy a little while to figure out what the excitement was about. For the rest of basic, every time a drill sergeant said "Carry on," he had to answer "Here, Drill Sergeant!" Drill sergeants in our company of course told other drills about him, so the guy got no lack of attention. "Private, how do you pronounce your name?" "Carryon, drill sergeant/first sergeant/sir" whatever the case was, and then the fun would begin. "Did you just tell my 1SG to carry on private!"

One night we are awoken middle of the night to somebody calling perfect cadence VERY loudly. DIs fly out of the hut yelling top of their lungs, who the hell is calling cadence?

It was little alphabet (28 letters in his last name), the quietest guy in the platoon. Sound asleep calling it. You could see the start of a smile on the DIs face as they went back into the duty hut. Probably to laugh their ass off.

My DI in BCT (1966) was MSG Dunn. His assistant was SSG Gore. I don't mind using their names because I intend to do them honor...

I didn't know what to expect when I enlisted in the Army. I certainly didn't expect what I found: A training cadre that was hell-bent on whipping us into shape and training us to survive combat. And they were good at what they did.

I wish I could shake their hands today and thank them. I survived. And I wish that I could console them on their failures. I'm sure they sorely felt them.

Sure, there must have been "bad apples" in the training cadre. Thank God I never met them. Thank God I was blessed with the ones I had.

Oct 86, Ft Bliss TX, when my Drill informed me that the last time he saw me I was a little shit! Then informed
Me that he was a member of my Dad's team in Vietnam and at Ft Bragg. Needless to say, my first phone call home was not to my wife, but to my Dad wanting to know what he did to piss this guy off.

I went to both Army and Marine Boot camp, In Marine Boot Camp we was doing Rifle Drill, the DI I was standing not 8 inches from me and the Brim of His Campaign Cover was just touching my forehead, the DI was maybe 5'5" Panamanian and his English was lets say very hard to understand. When I was performing Inspection Arms and bringing my arm up to go to Order Arms my hand knocked his Campaign Cover off of his head and I couldn't help but to bust out laughing at him, he proceded to cuss me out in a high pitched Panamanian and I just couldn't stop laughing at him. he told me he will take care of me when we got back to the Squadbay but he never did. at the end of boot camp he told me that he found out I was prior service Army that same day and thought I was Planted in Boot Camp as a spy!

My last name is Glade, which people CONSTANTLY get wrong somehow... I was in the chowline early during boot at beautiful Ft. Sill (3/321 FA, B Btry) when a Drill Sergeant looks at me and says "Private Glad! You GLAD to be here?" To which 17 y/o me replied "It's GLADE, Drill Sergeant, and no..." The next word out of his mouth was "DROP." SO many push ups, lol...