Drill Sargeants?

Question

How does one get to be a drill Sargeant ? Is it one of possible choices when you get enlisted ? Do Drill Sargeants actually have a rank of Sargeant and can they advance in ranks and how ?

Answer 1

You can not enlist into Drill Sergeant. It is a career choice/option that you can either be assigned to or request later in your career. It will depend on your MOS, your performance, etc.... And you get extra points for promotion by serving as a Drill Instructor, and they are various SGT ranks E-5 through E-7 usually for the actual Drill Sergeants.

Answer 2

The Army has a Drill Sergeant's School. You have to be exceptional to get in, and you must be at least an E-4 (Corporal) .Upon graduation, I believe the E-4's are promoted to the rank of Sergeant (E-5). There is bonus pay for being a drill instructor, and you get to war the distinctive Smokey the Bear hat and Drill Sergeant's badge on all your uniforms.

Answer 3

Speaking for the USMC, you can apply once you reach Corporal. The number of Corporal D.I.'s in the Corps are few and far between, simply because most aren't ready yet. Your tour of duty as a D.I. would be about 2 years, and the training is RIGOROUS. You are expected to be in PEAK physical and mental condition, as well as looking like the "recruiting poster" Marine at all times.

The downside on it is that the job is very, very time consuming, and takes its toll on married Marines. Many D.I.'s can't "turn it off" when they get home. I once heard when I was in that the divorce rate among D.I.s was drastically higher than any other field or MOS in the USMC.

Best to you.

Answer 4

My TI was an Airman First Class. She was a Sargent in the Army than transferred to the Air Force and lost rank. One applies for the position. My sister was thinking of being a TI. I figured if they would choose someone like her, they weren't anything to afraid of.

Answer 5

You apply for DI school while you are in. The school is about 24 months long! DI's ranks vary fro CPL to SGT to SSGT and they advance in rank like any other enlisted troop! Time in grade and Boards!

Answer 6

U.S. Marines

In the U.S. Marine Corps, candidates for drill instructor (DI) duty are almost without exception volunteers. The tour of duty is three years. Candidates report to either Marine Corps Recruit Depot San Diego in California, or to Parris Island in South Carolina, where they are assigned to Drill Instructor School.

The school requires instructor candidates to complete every task recruits are required to do. Training day usually starts around 5:30 a.m. (0530 hours in military time) and ends around 5:30 p.m. (1730 hours), with specific training evolutions and end-of-day cleanups that require even longer days. At the end of each day, students have to practice effective time management in studying for exams, practicing drill, rehearsing teaching drill movements verbatim, preparing uniforms, all while still making time for rest to ready the body for physical training.

Physical training is conducted at least three times a week, with each session lasting at least two hours. In addition to warming up and stretching, students complete the "DI Playground," a circuit course that focuses on enhancing upper body strength. As a drill instructor is required to often spend up to 20 hours a day on his or her feet and move fast at all times, various running sessions are conducted to enhance speed and endurance. Students are led by their squad instructors in ability group runs, gradually increasing distance and speed throughout the course, track workouts, formations runs, and fartlek runs. Drill is a crucial part of the Drill Instructor School curriculum.

Every student is evaluated, corrected, and mentored continuously, with special attention paid to even the smallest of details, such as the placement of a finger, angle of the weapon, and positioning of the student in relation to the unit. Knowledge is constantly taught and evaluated in the form of written exams, practical applications, and inspections. Uniforms are inspected daily, with surprise inspections conducted randomly in addition to the scheduled inspections. The drill instructor is expected to convey the perfect Marine Corps image and conduct in which every recruit should strive to emulate.

Upon completion of Drill Instructor School, drill instructors are assigned to Recruit Training Battalions as junior members ("third hats" or "bulldogs") of drill instructor teams. His or her job consists of constant corrections, and keeping unremitting pressure on recruits to pay attention to details. He or she also teaches and reinforces academic knowledge to recruits. It is his or her duty to command the recruit platoon for initial drill evaluation, which in addition to the platoon receiving a score, the Drill Instructor is evaluated as well.

After completing a few 13-week cycles, the drill instructor is moved up to the position of Experienced Drill Instructor (EDI), also called the "heavy" or "j-belt." He or she teaches drill and various military skills.

The next step in a drill instructor career is Senior Drill Instructor. Senior drill instructors hold a respected position which is distinguished by the wearing of a black sword belt instead of a green duty belt. A senior drill instructor is ultimately responsible for the training of the platoon and for the efficiency of his or her assistant drill instructors. Although Senior Drill Instructors are Staff NCOs, their position in the recruit training platoon is similar to that of a Commissioned Officer Platoon Commander in a line platoon. As such, they are further set apart from "junior" drill instructors.

After completing a number of cycles, drill instructors are often assigned to (Support Battalion) duties outside of recruit-training platoons. Such assignments are referred to as quotas, and include jobs as academic instructors, martial arts instructors, water survival instructors, and warrior training instructors.

Many drill instructors choose to do a second tour of duty on the drill field. These volunteers still report to Drill Instructor School, but are referred to as course challengers, and are only required to complete a short refresher course. Second- and third-tour drill instructors, based on rank and experience, are usually assigned as series gunnery sergeants, company first sergeants, or battalion sergeants major.


U.S. Army

A drill sergeant drills recruits in the U.S. Army.In the U.S. Army, soldiers of appropriate rank (usually staff sergeants although sergeants and sergeants first class are eligible as well) may volunteer or be centrally selected by the U.S. Army Human Resources Command to attend Drill Sergeant School. Those centrally selected are known as "DA Selects" meaning Department of the Army selected. Drill Sergeant School is nine weeks long and consists of the exact same activities as basic training; drill and ceremony, basic rifle marksmanship, obstacle/confidence courses, and field training exercises. The prospective drill sergeants are treated just like new recruits. In some cases a student may find himself being yelled at and ordered around by a soldier of lesser rank. This is quite a change from the respect normally paid to a staff sergeant or sergeant first class.

A U.S. Army drill sergeant's normal tour of duty (called being "on the trail") is two years with a possible one-year extension. Drill sergeants may be assigned to units that conduct Basic Combat Training (BCT), One-Station Unit Training (OSUT), or Advanced Individual Training (AIT). BCT lasts nine weeks so BCT drill sergeants train approximately 11 cycles during their two year tours. OSUT drill sergeants train soldiers for nine weeks of Basic Training and a number of weeks depending on the MOS the drill sergeant trains, so the number of cycles is less. AIT drill sergeants are assigned to the Army's technical schools and train soldiers for varying lengths of time depending on the length of the school. The breaks between cycles are extremely short; a cycle will usually graduate on a Thursday or Friday with new recruits arriving the following Monday or Tuesday. Due to the recent changes in basic training, the army is trying to remove drill sergeants from AIT and replace them with regular noncommissioned officers. This would free up drill sergeants for basic.

Successful completion of drill sergeant duty greatly enhances opportunities for promotion. Many of the U.S. Army's most senior noncommissioned officers were drill sergeants earlier in their careers.