How many former DS/DI/MTI , Navy, Coast Guard instructors have been contacted by former trainees?

On several occasions following my retirement in 1995 I have been approached by several of my trainees. The most recent was an individual in the commissary who came up to me crying and hugged me and stated he had been in one of my flights. He was very surprised that I did in fact remember him due to the fact he wanted out of the Air Force on the 2nd day of training. To make a long story short I told him I would get him a discharge but it would take a while. On the 29th day of training (day before graduation) I told him I got his discharge. Oh my God talk about panic. After speaking with him he was retired as a E-8 with 25 years service.

Still to this day, even retired I am still in contact with several of them. quite a few from having trained then served with in the 75th Ranger Regiment as a PSG/PL.

Within a year of completing my first cycle I received several friend requests on FACEBOOK. They must have listened because I told them "DO NOT contact me on a social level until you leave TRADOC training/AIT".
At first it was questions regarding regs and professions advice. Now it is more social and in a respectful manner. One invited me to run with his unit for the Division run during All-American week. 4 of them are at FT Bragg and I can say I am fairly certain they have all done well.

I'm very proud of time as a DS and certainly look back on that time fondly, even though it was ok hours and at time difficult.

I have ran into a few Soldiers that claimed I had been their Drill Sergeant. However, I have never stuck around to entertain any sort of detailed conversation. As for social media my accounts are set to private while I am proud of any Soldier who has been successful in their career.

What I find funny is that one of my Drill Sergeants was assigned re-assigned to the 2nd Battalion 325 Parachute Infantry Regiment in the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg after completing Airborne School. My recruiter who later became a Drill Sergeant was the S-3 Air for 2/325 whereby I happened to be at Battalion when my Drill Sergeant was reporting from the 82nd Replacement Detachment.

It was classic as I could see his anticipation in me possibly giving him a hard time being a newly assigned Paratrooper. However, I simply gave him the greeting of the day and maintained the same level of professionalism I did throughout my entire career. Both he and my recruiter were outstanding leaders who had a passion for being Soldiers who led by example.

I have not had anyone make contact...it's been too many years and too many things have happened since the late 70's for me...

I have quite a few of my Soldiers that I am friends with on facebook. I am mentors to them all. Being a Drill Sergeant was being a leader and as a leader I will never deny a Soldier mentorship or guidance. Those Soldiers are not beneath us, we don't have to be their friend, but we can definitely be an inspiration. Most of mine were NCOs before I made it off of the trail and that makes me think that I did something right.

Because of social media I get a lot of requests from Soldiers. The total amount I have accepted is zero! I told them on day one that I'm not your friend, I'm your Drill Sergeant and that still applies after the fact.

I did run across a few of my former trainees after I got out but since the internet did not really exist until about 20 years after my discharge it was not real easy to track people down.

It's been so long since I was a drill. I actually tried to find mine to invite him to my retirement because he had a profound and lasting influence on my military career. After I did my tour as a Commandant of the Army Reserve Drill Sergeant School I would constantly have current and former Drill Sergeants come up to me and introduce themselves and talk about the time they served under me at the school or later in another unit. Good stuff.

All the time, was a Drill 85-87 (A-4-2) Ft Benning & ROTC SMI Edinboro University 95-99. One of my former cadets just graduated the War College and was promoted to Colonel (O-6).