LIFE LESSONS IN THE US ARMY
Another Day as a Drill Sergeant
The Army Basic Combat Training (BCT) Drill Sergeant is responsible for training new recruits everything they will need to know to survive and win on the battlefield.
In my last story about being a Drill Sergeant, I included the Soldier’s Creed and the Drill Sergeant’s Creed. I also explain some of the duties of the Drill Sergeant and what a Soldier learns in Basic Combat Training (BCT).
It is vitally important for each to remember and live by those creeds. When a Soldier or a Drill Sergeant steps outside the lines drawn in those words, bad things happen.
I say to illustrate that the military typically mimics society in that there are good and evil in both realms. Good people do bad things for the wrong reason, and bad people often do something to further their desires for pleasure or wealth.
In our battalion at Fort Sill, OK, there were only a few females. The supply clerk and armorer (the person who issues and cares for the companies weapons) was a female. The only female in our company of about 20 permanently assigned personnel and sometimes 240 new recruits.
She was also a new Soldier that had only been in the Army less than a year, well wouldn’t you know she became pregnant, by one of the Drill Sergeant, a married Drill Sergeant with three kids.
Granted, the life of a Drill Sergeant is tough, and they often work 16 to 18 hour-days, but wrong is wrong. Yes, she shares some of the blame, as she knew he was married. But for him, it was an abuse of power because he was a Senior Non-Commissioned Officer (NCO), and she was a lower-enlisted.
That same Drill Sergeant saved a Private’s life when he collapsed during a run. The Drill Sergeant gave him CPR and mouth-to-mouth for nearly twenty minutes until his partner on the run could get back to the battalion and get an ambulance.
Ninety percent of these Drill Sergeants just want to do their jobs, and make “lean, mean fighting machines” out of every Soldier they train. But not all of them will, and not all new recruits can handle the rigors of Army training.
The Drill Sergeant Who Had His Wallet “Stolen”
One time, they transferred another Drill Sergeant into my platoon with me because I was in a platoon by myself because the other Drill Sergeant’s two-year commitment was over, and he chose not to extend. The typical time for a Drill Sergeant is two years, though they can choose to do a third year.
So anyway, this Drill Sergeant came from another company within the battalion. Just after payday, he supposedly called the squad leaders into our office. One of the new recruits told me later, he started yelling at the squad leaders because the platoon wasn’t clean enough.
At some point, he was so angry he took his wallet out and threw it across the room, saying something like I always wonder if this job is worth the money or words to that effect.
I was off that day because I had what they call Staff Duty the night before and stayed there all night to do bed checks, answer the phones, etc.
When the platoon got back from training, he said someone stole his wallet. He gathered the squad leaders again, told them his wallet was missing, and they needed to find it.
He said, “Privates, there was $800 in that wallet, my license, ID card, and credit cards. You go check on the roof, you check the back stairs, you check the latrine, and you go check the laundry room. I swear to God, Privates, you better hope you find my wallet with everything in it.”
Everywhere he sent someone to check came back with a part of his wallet, his license, ID card, etc. But the guy who brought the wallet said there was no money in it.
He said, “Privates, you have until the end of the day. When I leave here at 2130, I better have my $800 back, no questions asked about who took it.” He said as he looked defiantly at the squad leader who had found his wallet without any money in it.
Of course, he told them this after an intense 30-minute workout of push-ups and other exercises. Sure enough, before he left, the Privates came up with the $800 for the Drill Sergeant. And no questions were asked about where it came from or who took his wallet. Everyone pretty much knew, but what could they do?
He probably would have gotten away with it, except one of the Privates from the company he transferred from asked to speak to me in private while I was in the Dining Facility. He said, “Drill Sergeant, I am a holdover from the last cycle because of shin splints.” I said, “Yeah, so what Private?”
He said, “I heard some of your Privates talking about Drill Sergeant Jameson had lost his wallet. The same thing happened two months ago when he was in my company. He lost $800 and threatened the Privates if he didn’t get it back.”
I took the Private to talk to our First Sergeant. It turns out the Drill Sergeant’s rent was $800, even though the Army gives us a housing allowance every month. I guess he was greedy. Except, he made a lot less when they took his hat, patch, and one rank.
You see, a Drill Sergeant back then in his second year got an incentive payment of $275 a month in addition to their regular pay.
More of My Stories
Stephen Dalton is a retired US Army First Sergeant with a degree in journalism from the University of Maryland and a Certified US English Chicago Manual of Style Editor. Currently living in the Philippines, Stephen is a Top Writer in Virtual Reality.
You can see his portfolio here. Email [email protected]
