Posted on Jul 17, 2015
Should USAR Drill Sergeant have a time limit “under the hat” as AC does?
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AC Drill Sergeants can only serve 36 months (48 if accepted to positions such as an instructor as the Drill Sergeant School); however, USAR Drill Sergeants can be assigned to a USAR DS Unit and stay there for years (I've seen plenty who have been on DS status in the Reserves for over 10+ years.
Just curious to know your OPINIONS only; I don't need "SGT AR (Army Regulation)" to copy a paste something from the reg.
Just curious to know your OPINIONS only; I don't need "SGT AR (Army Regulation)" to copy a paste something from the reg.
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Drill Sergeant
Drill Sergeant
Edited >1 y ago
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 6
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SFC Torres, that is an age old question. This has been debated all the way up to ther Department of the Army many times. As someone that served in the training community for over thirty years I can tell you from first hand experience.
I have been a Drill Sergeant, Senior Drill Sergeant, Field First (no longer used), First Sergeant, and Battalion Command Sergeant in the BCT environment. I also was a Commandant of one of the Army Reserve Drill Sergeant Schools, Brigade Sergeant Major over the Drill Sergeant School and then after spending a year in Iraq training the Iraqi military in 2006 - 2007 I returned to become the first Command Sergeant Major of the 108th Training Command (IET), with responsibility for the all of the Army Reserve Drill Sergeants, ROTC Instructors and the Army Reserve Drill School before it was consolidated into the Army Drill Sergeant School.
First let's look at the Drill Sergeant situation. At full strength there should be around 2400 Drill Sergeants in the Army Reserve. The Reserves also has a higher percentage of the female Drill Sergeants. The Army Reserve sent a complete Company of female Drill Sergeants to include the First Sergeant and Company Commander to Afghanistan to train the first ever class of Female Officer Candidates in the Afghanistan Army when I was the 108th Training Command (IET) Command Sergeant Major.
While there is a percentage of voluteer Drill Sergeants on active duty, I believe the majority of Drill Sergeants on active duty are Department of Army selected. The Army Reserve Drill Sergeant Program is 100% volunteer program..
Let say for simplicity sake that Drill Sergeant School is ten weeks. The active duty Drill Sergeant then goes on to serve an average of three years then returns back to a line unit.
Now that the war fighting dollars have gone away, bringing a Reserve Drill Sergeant on active duty for an extended period of time as has been the case since 9/11will be a rare opportunity if an option at all. That means that they are reduced to doing at possible max of serving 27 days of annual training a year if DA and USARC allows. And if the Soldier is fortunate enough to live near a basic training post, they may have a relationship with a BCT unit on post and get in a few additional days a year during unit's monthly battle assemblies. Again for simplicity sake let's just say the average Reserve Drill Sergeant will get six weeks on the trail per year.
It becomes obvious that if Reservist had the same three year limitations as active duty, it wouldn't be worth the time and money invested to send the Reserve Soldier to Drill Sergeant School to begin with.
What then would be the proper commitment, five years, ten years? Given the speed of technology advancement today, if a Reserve Drill Sergeant returned to a line unit after ten years or even five years, would they still be competitive in their MOS? And it is a challenge to meet the requirements to fill the slots today, if you increase the spin cycle and release the Reserve Drill Sergeants sooner, it would be a major challenge if not impossbile to maintaining staffing to adequate numbers.
Being a Drill Sergeant on active duty is no joke, being one in the Army Reserve is sometimes tougher for different reasons. Balancing all the required training and annual training with your civilian employment can be very challenging. The qualifications to become a Drill Sergeant today are a stringent as they have ever been. Meanwhile the quailified pool to fill the vacancies is becoming smaller and smaller. Finding Soldiers that meet the requirements without any blemishes in their backround is becoming increasingly more difficult.
If you were a combat arms MOS Drill Sergeant like I was, the Army Reserve has very few opportunities for you today, you may have to look to transfer into the National Guard if they will let you. Otherwise you would need to look to be a Training NCO or get promoted into a First Sergeant Position or apply to be a Recruiter, Reenlistment NCO / Career Counselor or some other special duty position.
This is a very long response to your question, but as you can see it's a very difficult situation.
I have been a Drill Sergeant, Senior Drill Sergeant, Field First (no longer used), First Sergeant, and Battalion Command Sergeant in the BCT environment. I also was a Commandant of one of the Army Reserve Drill Sergeant Schools, Brigade Sergeant Major over the Drill Sergeant School and then after spending a year in Iraq training the Iraqi military in 2006 - 2007 I returned to become the first Command Sergeant Major of the 108th Training Command (IET), with responsibility for the all of the Army Reserve Drill Sergeants, ROTC Instructors and the Army Reserve Drill School before it was consolidated into the Army Drill Sergeant School.
First let's look at the Drill Sergeant situation. At full strength there should be around 2400 Drill Sergeants in the Army Reserve. The Reserves also has a higher percentage of the female Drill Sergeants. The Army Reserve sent a complete Company of female Drill Sergeants to include the First Sergeant and Company Commander to Afghanistan to train the first ever class of Female Officer Candidates in the Afghanistan Army when I was the 108th Training Command (IET) Command Sergeant Major.
While there is a percentage of voluteer Drill Sergeants on active duty, I believe the majority of Drill Sergeants on active duty are Department of Army selected. The Army Reserve Drill Sergeant Program is 100% volunteer program..
Let say for simplicity sake that Drill Sergeant School is ten weeks. The active duty Drill Sergeant then goes on to serve an average of three years then returns back to a line unit.
Now that the war fighting dollars have gone away, bringing a Reserve Drill Sergeant on active duty for an extended period of time as has been the case since 9/11will be a rare opportunity if an option at all. That means that they are reduced to doing at possible max of serving 27 days of annual training a year if DA and USARC allows. And if the Soldier is fortunate enough to live near a basic training post, they may have a relationship with a BCT unit on post and get in a few additional days a year during unit's monthly battle assemblies. Again for simplicity sake let's just say the average Reserve Drill Sergeant will get six weeks on the trail per year.
It becomes obvious that if Reservist had the same three year limitations as active duty, it wouldn't be worth the time and money invested to send the Reserve Soldier to Drill Sergeant School to begin with.
What then would be the proper commitment, five years, ten years? Given the speed of technology advancement today, if a Reserve Drill Sergeant returned to a line unit after ten years or even five years, would they still be competitive in their MOS? And it is a challenge to meet the requirements to fill the slots today, if you increase the spin cycle and release the Reserve Drill Sergeants sooner, it would be a major challenge if not impossbile to maintaining staffing to adequate numbers.
Being a Drill Sergeant on active duty is no joke, being one in the Army Reserve is sometimes tougher for different reasons. Balancing all the required training and annual training with your civilian employment can be very challenging. The qualifications to become a Drill Sergeant today are a stringent as they have ever been. Meanwhile the quailified pool to fill the vacancies is becoming smaller and smaller. Finding Soldiers that meet the requirements without any blemishes in their backround is becoming increasingly more difficult.
If you were a combat arms MOS Drill Sergeant like I was, the Army Reserve has very few opportunities for you today, you may have to look to transfer into the National Guard if they will let you. Otherwise you would need to look to be a Training NCO or get promoted into a First Sergeant Position or apply to be a Recruiter, Reenlistment NCO / Career Counselor or some other special duty position.
This is a very long response to your question, but as you can see it's a very difficult situation.
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SFC Michael Jackson, MBA
CSM William Payne, I can understand the complexity of trying to balance how much time a USAR drill should serve to justify the costs of having the program. I'm witnessed first-hand some anomalies to the numbers. when reading this question, I thought about two reserve drills I served with on this trail at Fort Knox that had been drill sergeants for more than twenty years each. In my opinion, one was an excellent drill that could go for another 20 years. The other drill appeared to have been on the trail far too long. They would get mobilized a year at a time. As a cherry, it was great to have that constant stable drill with long-term experience and network connections to make life easier in a pinch. Term limits would make it difficult to keep those network connections and relationships with support teams in tact. As a drill sergeant, and especially as a senior drill, networking is an essential element of success. I don't believe we need term limits. We need the long-term drill for continuity.
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CSM William Payne
Unfortunately In the Reserves as on active duty there are good Drill Sergeants and bad Drill Sergeants regardless of age and expererience.
I will also admit that some outlast their effectiveness on the trail.
One of my challenges as the CSM was to identify those individuals and come up with solutions as how to handle them.
Nothing is more discouraging to a young hard charging up and coming Drill Sergeant than to have a dinasour over them homesteading in a position hindering their prospects for promotion.
There is a fine balance between maturity, pacing, the ability to work smarter and the youthful exuberance of going balls to the wall all the time.
I took great pride in my 30+ years of working in the training environment.
And one thing I always stressed to my trainers, unlike most of our Guard and Reserve counterparts, when we go to AT, we don't get to work with simulators, our Soldiers ARE our weapons systems.
BCT, Basic Combat Training; never go to sleep at night wondering if you did all you could to help these young Soldiers to survive on today's modern battlefield.
I will also admit that some outlast their effectiveness on the trail.
One of my challenges as the CSM was to identify those individuals and come up with solutions as how to handle them.
Nothing is more discouraging to a young hard charging up and coming Drill Sergeant than to have a dinasour over them homesteading in a position hindering their prospects for promotion.
There is a fine balance between maturity, pacing, the ability to work smarter and the youthful exuberance of going balls to the wall all the time.
I took great pride in my 30+ years of working in the training environment.
And one thing I always stressed to my trainers, unlike most of our Guard and Reserve counterparts, when we go to AT, we don't get to work with simulators, our Soldiers ARE our weapons systems.
BCT, Basic Combat Training; never go to sleep at night wondering if you did all you could to help these young Soldiers to survive on today's modern battlefield.
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Yes and no. I was on the trail this summer with a fellow reserve drill sgt who has been wearing the hat since 1995!!!! I think that's ridiculous. Reserve drill sergeants are in units that aren't MOS specific and some of us are in MOS specific units. Its all based on slots in the unit. Most reserve drills just end up getting promoted out of their unit.
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I appreciate everyones professinal response to this question. I can see the valid points you all make.
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