What all do I need to know become a Drill Sergeant?

Ok this may take a minute and its only going to scratch the surface. If you are afraid of public speaking, performing the task to show the correct way, unable to work extreme hours, then scramble a way to get out of this. Good luck with that though. 1st week is 120hrs (seriously I counted). There are 4 days as a DS. Monday, Sunday,CQ/staff duty, and sometimes comp day. Be on your game all the time. Don't build a character, be yourself 100% of the time. If you don't know how to do something, then find out! If it's a battle Drill or something like that, then stick your face in a book. Rely on your buddies to guide you through the SOP's that your unit has. You will be the new guy but that doesn't mean you won't be held accountable like a senior will. Some days you will be the only one, conduct yourself like your the boss and all they need is you. This will really be the most rewarding job ever. At the same time if you step on your own "gear" consider it career suigete. If your married, then prepare your family to adjust accordingly. Your personal life no longer matters. This is a long way from your 42A job. At least as a grunt I teach grunt things all day. This isn't prison where they will see that you are a rookie Guard. They will respect you and the hat and badge until you conduct yourself in a way that will make them feel otherwise. Know your modules for DS school. Download it from the internet. Embrace the suck of DS school. It's dumb and they harp on every little thing you do. In hindsight you will see that this is exactly how you will be with your privates. Don't let them slide on anything. Expect perfection. This will never happen but hopefully they will be as good as they can get for the short time you have them. If you do your job right, these kids will actually love you like a father, some kids will be tougher than others. You will have to tailor your interactions with them on a personal basis after red phase. You will find the ones that have authority issues because they were abused. You will have the privates that have never had a lick of responsibility in their life. Shit, kids will come out of the closet. It's a crazy life. Your affecting 220 kids every 9 weeks. Good luck message me if you need anything.

SSG Eddie Peters, lot of folks here are giving good info, especially SSG Lawrence Johnson. As an officer working with DSs and NCOS of all ranks in a Basic Combat Training battalion, I have to repeat what the Colonel said: get hot on PT!! We had a couple Drill Sergeant candidates dropped from school because they failed the PT run. Specifically, the run. I only remember 2 DSCs coming back for failing the modules.

Check out the BCT units in your area. Most will have a rigorous DSS School prep program to get you ready for school. Generally, you should have a mentor and other DSs that have already been on the trail. They will do everything within their power to get you ready for school.

BCT is a faced paced world; be ready to hit the ground running. The Drill Sergeant is the major "weapons system " of the BCT unit. Commanders and CSMs can either make or brake their careers based on Drill Sergeant strength. Be prepared to qualify as a Drill Sergeant within a year of joining your unit. Learn all you can about the BCT environment. It may just be the 'toughest job you'll ever love."

Best of luck to you! !

Every single failure at DS School I have seen has been APFT failure. I am sure you have to 90 push ups to "get" 42.