FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas –
The first lines of the Drill Sergeant Creed states “I am a
Drill Sergeant. I will assist each individual in their efforts to become a
highly motivated, well-disciplined, physically and mentally fit Soldier,
capable of defeating any enemy on today’s modern battlefield.”
Incorporating this ethos in to a staff job might be
difficult for some, but for a handful of former drill sergeants now assigned to
U. S. Army South at Fort Sam Houston, the lessons learned on the trail are
still applicable.
“Being a drill sergeant was the best assignment I had and
what I’m most proud of in my Army career,” said Master Sgt. Tomas Fernandez,
Army South human resources plans and operation NCO in charge, and a drill
sergeant from 2005-2007.
Fernandez said the training and leadership techniques he
learned as a drill sergeant allows him to teach and mentor his Soldiers even
now as a human resources NCOIC.
A drill sergeant plays the most vital role in the Army:
building future Soldiers.
Drill sergeants are entrusted with the task of mentoring,
training and molding new recruits into combat-ready Soldiers during Basic
Combat Training.
Master Sgt. Clyde Harris, Army South’s deployable command
post NCOIC, was a drill sergeant for three years and remembers not only the
long days he spent training new recruits, but also how gratifying it was to see
the transformation.
“The best part about being a drill sergeant was seeing the
hard work and effort you put into a civilian who had little to no knowledge of
the Army for 14 weeks and see them transform into a Soldier,” Harris said. “It
was a very rewarding and humbling experience.”
A drill sergeant spot is reserved for the best qualified NCO
who is an expert in all warrior tasks and battle drills, lives the Army values,
exemplifies the warrior ethos and most importantly, is the epitome of the Army
as a profession.
Harris has been in the Army for 27 years and a leader for
most of those years. He knows being a drill sergeant helped him master
different styles of leadership skills he uses to this day.
“I learned that you have to find different ways to motivate
Soldiers since we are all so different,” Harris said. “The same tactics I used
on one Soldier might not work on another so I had to be very creative in
getting Soldiers to perform to a certain standard.”
Drill sergeants are role models not only to new recruits,
but to everyone in the Army, signifying what it means to be a Soldier and what
it takes to be a Soldier.
According to Fernandez, as a drill sergeant, he was
fortunate enough to mentor and help transition new Soldiers into the best
warriors they can be. After 22 years of service he said if he gets the chance
to be a drill sergeant again he would “take it in a heartbeat.”