Posted on Dec 14, 2014
Which special duty is harder? Recruiting or Drill duty? Why?
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In my career, I had the honor of being a recruiter and a drill sergeant. Having been both, Recruiting was more difficult in my opinion. I felt they were both challenging. However, recruiting required selling an intangible opportunity that civilians can't feel or touch. Your success or the failure of the "mission", which is the beauty word for quota, was a calculated probability that sometimes worked in your favor sometimes not. A rough example, talk to 100 people/ 30 agree to appoint/ 10-12 actually show/ 2-4 agree to join/ end up with 1-2 after physical/security screening/ etc. Some quit and have enough respect to tell you/ some went to a black hole when it was time to go. When someone flaked on you, it was responsibility to make it up? no excuses. It normally happened a couple of days before the end the month. Despite your best efforts, ultimately couldn't control success or failure. You can increase your probability by talking to more people. I didn't go anywhere without looking for somebody to talk to about the Army.
As a Drill Sergeant, the job was itself was tough. However, you were given the training schedule at the beginning of the training cycle and followed it. You worked a member of the team. Rarely were you solo on a training event that mattered. If someone suffered an injury and washed out, it wasn't on you unless you made a stupid decision that caused the injury.
However, I'm curious how the RP community feels. That's my perspective. What's your view?
As a Drill Sergeant, the job was itself was tough. However, you were given the training schedule at the beginning of the training cycle and followed it. You worked a member of the team. Rarely were you solo on a training event that mattered. If someone suffered an injury and washed out, it wasn't on you unless you made a stupid decision that caused the injury.
However, I'm curious how the RP community feels. That's my perspective. What's your view?
Drill Sergeant
Recruiter
Training
Posted >1 y ago
Responses: 5
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SFC Michael Jackson, MBA, I've never done either job, but I always wanted to be a Drill Sergeant. Never (in a million years) would I want to be a recruiter. Your description of the job and the "mission" (/quota) is exactly how I envisioned it working. God bless recruiters. I've seen the job recruiters have from the outside looking in, and it does not look like fun to me.
I also agree with you about being a Drill Sergeant. It seems like a hard job, time wise, physically, etc., but you're part of a team, and that makes it better. Plus, the trainees are (I would hope) motivated to succeed so you have that going for you.
What's interesting to me about both jobs is that it seems to be very easy to "stray" into trouble areas in these two jobs. "Fudging" on recruiter stats, what applicants write on their paperwork, etc. (I've heard this happens). And on the Drill Sergeant side, abuse (and inappropriate relationships/sexual abuse) of trainees has gotten people into trouble. I know those items - in both fields - are not problems if you're living the Army values. It just seems we hear about those types of abuses more often in those two particular fields.
I also agree with you about being a Drill Sergeant. It seems like a hard job, time wise, physically, etc., but you're part of a team, and that makes it better. Plus, the trainees are (I would hope) motivated to succeed so you have that going for you.
What's interesting to me about both jobs is that it seems to be very easy to "stray" into trouble areas in these two jobs. "Fudging" on recruiter stats, what applicants write on their paperwork, etc. (I've heard this happens). And on the Drill Sergeant side, abuse (and inappropriate relationships/sexual abuse) of trainees has gotten people into trouble. I know those items - in both fields - are not problems if you're living the Army values. It just seems we hear about those types of abuses more often in those two particular fields.
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1SG Michael Blount
See? Why is it people ALWAYS want to be a Drill Sergeant? Yah, it's because we're THAT good! Just kidding around, folks.
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CSM Charles Hayden
LTC Montalto, I am becoming acquainted w/ a local recruiting 'Station Leader'. My observation is that he is called to 'training sessions' 100 miles away on a weekly basis. Please; visit the recruiters while they are working, share your rank, persona and engage with them and their potential recruits. See what the recruiters really do! Thank you. CSM Hayden
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COL (Join to see)
CSM Charles Hayden , WILCO! I have never been fond of commanding from behind the desk. Going into this assignment I understand that they are the main effort. I would rather sacrafice my time then theirs!
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Having been a Drill Sergeant and loathed the job of Recruiting, I'd have to say being a recruiter. What a thankless job. I had friends who were and they absolutely could not stand it. You could meet your quota for 6 straight months and miss by 1 the next month and recruiting command would be all over you like you were a red headed stepchild. The primary reason I volunteered to be a Drill Sergeant is because I dreaded the thought of being selected for recruiting duty. I would not have completed my 20 years had they forced me into that position.
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CSM Michael Lynch
I would agree with Recruiting. Their were periods that recruiting command was extremely intense throughout the years. It did start changing for the better after 2000. It was still a tough business, but the command started looking at better ways to deal with the mission and it's Soldiers. Around 2005 they definitely had taken a different approach and started removing the toxic environment.
It was a tough, demanding job, but also rewarding knowing that you were responsible for your part of filling the Army and giving Americas youth a proud career. In the case above of making mission for 6 months and 1 bad month, they way your friends were treated was nothing more than poor leadership and would have been handled differently by good leaders. Yes I could tell you experiences of interesting leaders during the early 90's of Recruiting Command. The good leaders rose above the peers.
It was a tough, demanding job, but also rewarding knowing that you were responsible for your part of filling the Army and giving Americas youth a proud career. In the case above of making mission for 6 months and 1 bad month, they way your friends were treated was nothing more than poor leadership and would have been handled differently by good leaders. Yes I could tell you experiences of interesting leaders during the early 90's of Recruiting Command. The good leaders rose above the peers.
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1SG Frank Boynton
I was in from 1972 until 1992. All my experiences with recruiting command comes from that time reference. If it's changed - that's great. But what I described was relatively common practice and a mild form of some of the horror stories I've heard. While I was on Drill Sgt duty at Ft. Dix, myself and 3 other drills went the recruiting command up in Olean, New York to assist the recruiters by going to high schools around the area and demonstrating PT, answer questions about basic, etc. Not even knowing these recruiters, they told of terrible treatment. Back in the day it was a career ending assignment.
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CSM Michael Lynch
We still used Drill Sergeants for the same types of events at high schools and Future Soldier events. Have always had a great respect for DSs as they had to teach, coach and mentor every new Soldier we sent to the Army and that was a task many folks wouldn't even want to think about. So to Drill Sergeants and Recruiters Salutes without the two of those Special Duty Assignments there wouldn't be an Army of Soldiers.
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