Posted on Jun 5, 2015
Who was your Drill Sergeant/Drill Instructor in Basic Training?
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Do you remember your Drill Sergeant, if not by name, could you describe his/her impact on training you, the mannerisms, the pet peeves, the swagger?
The impact of direct leadership during your earliest days in service help form the type of service member you will be throughout your career. That direct leadership changes very little as you progress. The more senior you become in service, the more distance you have between you and your immediate leadership however, that direct leader has a huge impact in shaping (mentoring) you. So, who was that Drill Sergeant/Drill Instructor and how that leadership impacted your career?
The impact of direct leadership during your earliest days in service help form the type of service member you will be throughout your career. That direct leadership changes very little as you progress. The more senior you become in service, the more distance you have between you and your immediate leadership however, that direct leader has a huge impact in shaping (mentoring) you. So, who was that Drill Sergeant/Drill Instructor and how that leadership impacted your career?
Mentorship
Drill Sergeant
Basic Training
Training Soldiers
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 333
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7th Bn, Sand Hill, Fort Benning. 1981 PSG Elipido G. Berrera, and SSG Yancey. I think he was one of the last in the Army to carry the PSG (Platoon Sergeant) rank. A strapping Soldier with a booming voice. I imagine that god would sound like him. Past drill sergeant of the year. He would spit shin his leather gloves. SSG Yancey was a former Marine. They both taught me and my platoon how to train and prepare. On Sunday, when the rest of the company was goofing off, we did dime and washer drills, or went to the HG range, etc. So that we were already prepped to learn the next weeks training. That lesson has never lost on me.
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SSG John Jensen
AIT - Ft Sam Houston - SP6 Barnett 91C3P - with a different CBT Patch for every day of the week, all were ABN, and all were as a Medic.
Zero week same place, cleaning out offices - those nameplates people get for their desks, one NCO had two of them, one as SGM, and the other as SP9!
Zero week same place, cleaning out offices - those nameplates people get for their desks, one NCO had two of them, one as SGM, and the other as SP9!
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DS Pearson: Never took his tinted BCGs off, even at night. Talk about psychological warfare. Tough, intimidating, and fair. He inspired me to push my limits, to find out what I was really capable of. He was always serious, always yelling, but he also made sure to point out when you did something right.
DS Morales: My platoon was having a really bad day. We just could not get anything right, and we were fighting amongst ourselves. DS Morales took us up to the bay and sparred a couple rounds with a few of the guys who thought they were really tough, just to show us some of the moves we would learn during combatives training. He didn't yell (anymore than a DS should), but instead gave us something to look forward to.
DS Sobukwe: Originally from the Caribbean, DS Sobukwe was a very chill guy. He took the time to really get to know us as individual soldiers, to not yell at us unless we REALLY needed it, and taught me that humor does have a place in the military (not all the time, but enough to where things do not always have to be serious).
DS Morales: My platoon was having a really bad day. We just could not get anything right, and we were fighting amongst ourselves. DS Morales took us up to the bay and sparred a couple rounds with a few of the guys who thought they were really tough, just to show us some of the moves we would learn during combatives training. He didn't yell (anymore than a DS should), but instead gave us something to look forward to.
DS Sobukwe: Originally from the Caribbean, DS Sobukwe was a very chill guy. He took the time to really get to know us as individual soldiers, to not yell at us unless we REALLY needed it, and taught me that humor does have a place in the military (not all the time, but enough to where things do not always have to be serious).
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SSG Linder.
I vaguely remember my male drill sergeants--I can hardly even remember some of their names, but....SSG Linder....her name will be forever imprinted on my mind.
...I can still remember that one time she entered our sleeping bay.
Her eyes met mine, all the way across the room, and I stood there, in a dumbfounded stupor--completely forgetting my most basic and fundamental PVT/BCT trainee responsibility to yell "at ease" when a NCO entered the room.
I distinctly recall her darting like a rocket from the other end of the bay....it took her seemingly only a fraction of a second to cover that ground.
She could have put Usain Bolt to shame.
Seriously.
I don't remember everything she said, but, let's just say, I never forgot to say "at ease" when a NCO walked into a room again.
I believe I lost a few pounds that day, as well (on account of the smoking I received).
Her image is permanently imprinted in my mind.
I vaguely remember my male drill sergeants--I can hardly even remember some of their names, but....SSG Linder....her name will be forever imprinted on my mind.
...I can still remember that one time she entered our sleeping bay.
Her eyes met mine, all the way across the room, and I stood there, in a dumbfounded stupor--completely forgetting my most basic and fundamental PVT/BCT trainee responsibility to yell "at ease" when a NCO entered the room.
I distinctly recall her darting like a rocket from the other end of the bay....it took her seemingly only a fraction of a second to cover that ground.
She could have put Usain Bolt to shame.
Seriously.
I don't remember everything she said, but, let's just say, I never forgot to say "at ease" when a NCO walked into a room again.
I believe I lost a few pounds that day, as well (on account of the smoking I received).
Her image is permanently imprinted in my mind.
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SFC Williams, and SSG Mendoza. We had a 3rd DS, but we maybe saw him 2-3 times the whole cycle.
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DS Gardner and DS Richardson, shown in the picture, later DS Roby replaced DS Gardner.
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