Can a Drill sergeant search you and only you without permission?

I stayed out the line of fire by doing two things :Follow all orders and follow the rules !

People constantly overlook there is no true thing as "personal privacy", while you are member of the US Armed Forces. If you work, reside, or operate on a Federally controlled containment area you and your property such as vehicles and homes (on base) are subject to search and seizure at ALL TIMES. That does not mean you have no rights, only you give up certain ones while a member. Get used to it, or leave the service. Experience both as retired officer, 6+ years of command, and prior service enlisted.

While in BCT, you 'belong' to the Army. Don't like it or can't or won't comply, then leave. Enough said.

What is this Cellphone Business...really, SMDH. You are there for training, there is no Reg that says you need a cellphone, but, hey...who the hell Am I. Break the rules, get caught, get Punished, end of discussion. I promise you it will be easier to Shut up, train and get the hell out of there. If you decide to keep pushing the envelope, you will be there for alot longer, while they do their due diligence to kick you the hell out. I can promise you the later will take longer then you doing what your asked to do and graduating and moving on to your first duty assignment. If you listen to what 1SG Healy said to you I can promise your life will be a whole lot easier. As I told my sons when they went in the Army, do what your told, do your time, get the hell out if it's not for you. 1 has done his time, gotten out and another just made E6 and re-enlisted. Drive On!

SFC Boyd and 1SG Healy (aka TOP)... spot on. I served my training 1986 at Fort Leonard Wood... going in I knew what was expected of a soldier. Never use the word "gun", never be sloppy, late and be in proper uniform regardless of last second changes. I witnessed a young man placed into C.C.F. He straightened out after that experience. Reading the complaint leaves me bewildered.

PART 2:

PVT, I forgot to add in my original comment that in basic and AIT you get shaken down on a regular basis and yes they have every right to do that. You give up your right to any privacy whatsoever when you enter basic and AIT. You really gotta toughen up man. I don’t know what you were hoping you would find by posting this in this forum but obviously it backfired for you. No self-respecting soldier is going to feel sorry for you in this situation. Pardon me for saying so but you sound like a major soup sandwich right now! Like I said in my original comment with the drill sergeant I encountered in basic you have to earn their respect and if you’re doing things that put a target on your back then you got to deal with it. But if you can show a reasonable effort to do the right thing you can earn that respect. And my last word of advice don’t ever post this kind of whiny shit on here again! Take it like a man, do better, graduate and move the hell on. If I was your DS you’d be fucked with that kind of attitude. Being a soldier can be one of this most rewarding things in the world but you have to change your outlook cause if you don’t it’s not gonna be a fun ride. Good luck.

You get to have a phone in AIT?! Wow must be nice. You would’ve hated being in when I went through basic and AIT We turned in our cell phones on day one and didn’t see them again until graduation. Consider yourself lucky you even get have a phone. You have to toughen up and stick it out for eight more weeks. I had a drill sergeant that hated my guts because like an idiot I was nervous on our first day and I laughed when he got up in my face. That man rode my ass all the way through basic and AIT and it took a long time for me to earn his respect. It sucked but that is how Basic and AIT is and if you can’t handle this now you may have problems when you actually get to your duty station or heaven forbid if you ever deploy. Things get a whole lot harder then.

If it were me, I would suck it up for 8 weeks and keep my nose clean. Do what is expected of you, graduate from AIT and get shipped to your unit.

Son, you do not have a clue about what it takes to be a soldier. Your NCO is trying like hell to find a way to motivate you to learn to obey rules and directions. Your continued BS shenanigan's are a direct reflection on the NCO's who passed you from Basic to AIT. You swore an oath to protect this country and obey the directions given you by those senior to you. I have been a retired 1SG for more than 30 years and you would not want to come into my office with a complaint like this. Toughen up buttercup.

This may be my lack of understanding of Army regs, or the fact that I've been retired from active duty for a while now, but I'm reading these comments scratching my head. Got it, Pvt, original poster, openly admits that he did something wrong. I also understand that while at Recruit Training there is a very fine line between illegal search and seizure and legitimate needs to keep close tabs on Recruits. But as an instructor at the largest MOS school in the Marine Corps, what this Pvt just explained would have landed me straight in front of the CO to discuss my new rank, lower paycheck and position. Again, I may not understand Army regs, so I don't want to get too far out of lane here on the actual search of this young Soldiers gear. For all I know DS's have that kind of authority even at AIT. But singling him out, tossing his room, bring in other Soldiers to witness the destruction......I'm a little confused. Are all of you SNCOs and Officers commenting advocates for me, a MSgt coming over to a SSgt's base housing unit to inspect it without PMO present without a warrant or order from the CO? Then tossing it looking for whatever it is I think he or she has? I mean that's essentially what you're advocating in the barracks. I get it, Pvt's left to their own live like pigs, do illegal stuff, and would basically turn the barracks into Lord of the Flies. But if you think you give up all of your Constitutional rights the minute you sign a contract and roll onto a DOD installation, you really need to consider who you're calling a sea/barracks lawyer, because that's not true. I agree, should use the COC to clear this up. But if that type of leadership is passed on to the next generation (toss a Soldiers room, then bring members of the opposite sex in to belittle this young Soldier in front of his platoon), don't question why you have leadership issues. You're not training and leading, you're simply using ineffective punishment. It's ineffective because look where he's brought it.