US Marine Corps Drill Instructor vs US Army Drill Sergeant

I was a commander of a BCT unit in 1980 and every Drill Instructor I had was amazing. A proud group of dedicated NCOs.

I was ignorant, too.
Father and grandfather served, but it didnt compute.
Was shocked when I got to jump school that we had weekends off...and didnt have to use leave for it.
Will never forget my DS, SSG Bobby Jones.
Sheesh.

Capt. Durish, my BCT was 51 years ago too. I agree with you about your Drill Sergeants. Mine were very similar. SFC Falkowski and SGT Jacobson. SFC Falkowski could have been used by the Army as a poster for the ideal Drill Sergeant. SGT Jacobson was very sharp too. We did have one Drill Sergeant in our company, SFC Beam, and he looked about like Sarge in Beetle Bailey. That guy woud start hollering in our ear and hen start bellying us. I did not like him very much.

Before I left for Basic, my father, a Forward Observer Vietnam Vet told me: Keep your mouth shut and be invisible. Never piss off your Supply Sergeant because he brings you what you'll need to survive. Never piss off your Mess Sergeant because he brings you food. Never piss off your 1SG because he controls your time. And never piss off your Drill Sergeant because he controls your life. I followed his advice, mostly, and I am grateful for them all. I had 14 assignments and dozens of them. Oh yeah, and if you never do anything else right, invest in real estate. I am sorry I never did.

CWO4 (Join to see) That is awesome - glad I could share this with the RP Membership!

What I think every Marine remembers most is the 1st session with the Sr. DI. Arrival is traumatic for the 1st 48 hours, but it is in Forming platoon. Then one recruit says to me after a couple days, "We get our real DIs tomorrow." I was apparently ill-informed, because I didn't know that they unreasonable SOB in forming wasn't our 'real DI'. You Marines know what I'm talking about. It went like this. We were gathered into our barracks for our training. There were four Marine NCOs standing at parade rest saying nothing but looking like pissed off was their only mental settings. Your forming DI leaves, and your platoon leader, a 1st LT comes in and everyone comes to attention. You are put at ease and told to sit down. The LT introduces the DIs and lays down some expectations in a tone that would be considered reasonable in the Marines but demanding anywhere else. Then he says, "Drill Instructors, they're all yours", and we are called to attention. The LT walks out of the squad bay in silence. Then the door goes 'click' behind him, and it's like a claymore exploded in the squad by. These DIs suddenly become escapees from the institute for the criminally insane, screaming and swearing and making us run to our bunks, then back to the 'classroom', back and forth for a good 20 minutes so we are all tired, sweating, and wondering what the f**k we were thinking when we signed up. The the Sr. DI give his speech about how he will make us Marines or kill us. No one actually gets to leave and go home, drop outs are murdered and fed the the other recruits, etc., etc., etc. Even the scene in Full Metal Jacket is like a tea party compared to your real life first hour with your 'real' DIs. Then the next hour is spent doing an inventory of every recruits gear by dumping it all on the floor and kicking it around so it's all mixed up and then you are given 2 minutes to sort through it and get your gear. When everyone is not done, you throw it back in the pile and are given another 2 minutes. At some point you realize you all need to just grab any gear, and try to sort it out after lights out. Then it's time to learn how to make your rack, so they called us into the classroom with mattress and blanket and sheets. Then when someone's rack wasn't right, we all went back to the classroom with our mattress and coverings again, and this lasted until midnight before the DIs finally decided though our racks were unsatisfactory, regulations required them to let us go to sleep for four hours before starting our training at 4 am. Ended with "Good night ladies."

Way t go LTC Stephen F.