Drill instructor
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A drill instructor is a non-commissioned officer in the armed forces with specific duties that vary by country. In the U.S. armed forces, they are assigned the duty of initiating new recruits entering the military into the customs and practices of military life. In the U.S. they may also be known as military training instructors. Outside of the U.S., they are assigned the duty of instructing recruits in drill commands only.
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[edit] U.S. Armed Forces
Drill instructors are held responsible for the welfare, behavior, and military education of the recruits assigned to them on a 24-hour basis throughout the period of initial training, known as boot camp. The responsibilities include areas such as military discipline, physical fitness, and weapons training.
The rank held by drill instructors varies by branch:
- Drill instructors in the United States Marine Corps normally hold the rank of sergeant (E-5) through gunnery sergeant (E-7).
- Drill sergeants in the United States Army are staff sergeant (E-6) or sergeant first class (E-7). There are some sergeants (E-5), but they are few in number.
- Military training instructors in the United States Air Force are generally staff sergeants (E-5) through master sergeants (E-7), though some hold the rank of senior airman (E-4).
- Company commanders in the United States Coast Guard are Petty Officer Third Class (E-4) through Master Chief Petty Officer (E-9).
- Recruit division commanders (formerly Company commanders) in the United States Navy are Petty Officers Second Class (E-5) through Senior Chief Petty Officer (E-8). U.S. Navy officer training includes both a Marine Corps Gunnery Sergeant (E-7) drill instructor, and a petty officer RDC.
The arduous nature of drill instructor duty means that such assignments are among the most prestigious carried out by enlisted personnel. Those who become drill instructors are eligible for a variety of military awards, such as the Drill Instructor Ribbon, and are also entitled to wear the Drill Sergeant Identification Badge.
[edit] 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.
[edit] U.S. Army
In the U.S. Army, soldiers of appropriate rank may be selected or volunteer to go to Drill Sergeant School. The school is nine weeks long and consists of the exact same activities as basic training (drill and ceremony, basic rifle marksmanship, obstacle/confidence courses, 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 platoon sergeant.
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), during which time he will train about 11 cycles of nine weeks each. OSUT or Infantry Drill Sergeants train soldiers for 14 weeks straight. The breaks between cycles are extremely short: a cycle will usually graduate on a Thursday or Friday, and new recruits will arrive the following Monday or Tuesday. Breaks between Marine Corps cycles are even shorter: after a class graduates the 13-week cycle on Friday, a new class is picked up the following morning.
[edit] Popular culture
Drill instructors have a well-deserved reputation as unforgiving taskmasters, and they are often portrayed as such in popular culture. Among the definitive fictional portrayals are Gunnery Sergeant Hartman in the film Full Metal Jacket, played by R. Lee Ermey, himself a retired Marine drill instructor, Gunnery Sergeant Highway in the film, Heartbreak Ridge played by Clint Eastwood,and Louis Gossett, Jr.'s portrayal of Sgt. Emil Foley in An Officer and a Gentleman. Other portrayals include Jack Webb in the 1957 film The D.I. and Darren McGavin who starred opposite Jan-Michael Vincent in the 1970 television film Tribes.
The terms drill sergeant and drill instructor is often used for an employer in any occupation who sets strict tasks and guidelines and is tough on those who do not comply.
