What stresses out Army drill sergeants?

Army drill sergeants are perhaps best known for producing anxiety among new recruits from the minute they set foot on basic training ground. But very few people ever stop to ask, “What causes stress among drill sergeants?”

One study, carried out by the academic journal Military Medicine and published in August, however, did just that. It turns out, drill sergeants are pretty burned out.

The authors, working under the Walter Reed Army Institute of Research Institutional Review Board, surveyed 856 drill sergeants across Army basic training sites over two months and identified several sources of stress among the service’s new-soldier shepherds.

“The most commonly experienced stressors were finding time to exercise, lack of sleep, and long work hours,” according to the survey. “Poorer outcomes were also associated with fewer hours of sleep and initial unhappiness regarding involuntary assignment to the role of drill sergeant, while better outcomes were associated with higher ratings of general leadership, health-promoting leadership, and drill sergeant camaraderie.”