Drill Sergeant Manual

[Leanna Perr]

FORT SILL, Okla., Sept. 1, 2016 -- The process of giving drill sergeants the skills they need to teach basic combat trainees has undergone a face-lift this past year, and it's making for more knowledgeable cadre capable of imparting skills more professionally to new Soldiers.

Drill sergeants (Staff Sgts.) Franco Peralta and Dustin Randall, Fort Sill's Drill Sergeant of the Year (DSoY) for 2015 and 2016 respectively, are helping to implement the new focus on standardizing the certification process at the 434th Field Artillery Brigade level rather than at the battalion level.

Typically certification standards have varied from one battalion to another. An article in the NCO Journal, reprinted in the Aug. 11 issue of the Fort Sill Tribune, explained the changes that may soon be implemented Army-wide.

Randall said he believes Training and Doctrine Command is "using bits and pieces" of the program developed at Fort Sill and managed through 434th FA Brigade Headquarters and Headquarters Support (HHS) Battery.

"We definitely shared our program with the other Army training centers," said Randall, "and we passed product that we made, score cards, the CONOPS (concept of operations), stuff like that for them to take out what they want until it is standardized across the board. They say Fort Sill has developed a good program and kind of set the standard."

Being DSoY comes with an added set of responsibilities, all of which help foster better training. "The number one thing is being principal adviser to brigade commander and brigade sergeant major," said Randall. "Looking at all the training events being conducted and executed, speaking with the drill sergeants, finding out what issues they have with the training and what things could be done better, fine tuning the training here at Fort Sill, trying to make it better for the cadre and the Soldiers as well. Giving the commander good solid advice, good feedback from the field, so he can make good command decisions."

Noncommissioned officers may be pulled from any military occupational specialty (MOS) to join the drill sergeant cadre, and may not have used warrior skills as much as, say, an infantryman. "If you're in finance or supply you're not always going to be performing functions check on an M4 or M16A2, not going to be doing malfunctions on an M203, you're not going to be performing those tasks on a daily basis," said Randall.

Command Sgt. Major Earven Boyd, 95th Adjutant General Battalion (Reception), said such skills are perishable, meaning if they're not done regularly, the skills erode. "You have to have muscle memory," he said of the tasks being learned.

Randall said, "Using HHS as facilitators and evaluators, they are very professional about taking extra time to spend with the drill sergeants to get them trained up. HHS is really the developing force of this program."

Since the brigade-led program began in February, more than 300 drill sergeants have been certified, with the testing being done every weekend at first, and now once a month. They need to be re-certified annually, and if they get even one "no-go" they don't pass. However, they get two tries during a testing period to re-do any task they fail. If successful, they are certified. If unsuccessful, they re-test at a later date.

A dozen new drill sergeants began the second week of the Drill Sergeant Orientation Course on Aug. 22, learning 27 different tasks "by the book." The book being the Soldier's Manual of Common Tasks, which instructs the proper way to evaluate a casualty, orient a map using a Lensatic compass, load and unload an M249 machine gun, correct malfunctions on an M4 carbine, protect from chemical and biological contamination, employ hand grenades, and other tasks.

The drill sergeants were tested on Aug. 27, at Contingency Operations Location Murphy to determine whether they would become certified. These drill sergeants were joined by others who needed to re-test on one or more tasks, or who couldn't make the last test. Four versions of the scorecard told them which 15 tasks they would be tested on.

Master Sgt. Michael Gersper, noncommissioned officer in charge of the training division, told them before the testing began, "The smallest mistake on the performance measures will result in a 'no-go.' On the other hand, if you do everything as that book says to do, you're going to get a 'go.' We're out here for the same reason, which is our professional development and the mission to train these IET (Initial Entry Training) Soldiers. This is do-able. It's not easy."

On test day, the drill sergeants review the manual, practice the tasks with their battle buddies, take a deep breath, and enter the testing area. The tasks are performed with the evaluator looking on. The steps can be numerous, and must be done in the right order. At the end, there's only one thing they want to hear. And they want to hear it fifteen times.

It would help to find the manual you are looking for if a manual # was known. I clearly remember "Hand to Hand Combat Training" when I went through Basic Training at Ft. Benning, GA, in 1969. There is a field manual FM -21-150 published/dated 1963, 1969, and 1971, Department of the Army. The manual titled "COMBATIVES" covers hand to hand fighting, bayonet and knife fighting. Similar to Basic Training. A drill sergeant stood on a large platform and shouted instructions while we paired off and trained. I do have a copy of it somewhere. It is currently MIA.

In the military, we do not mass-produce experts in drill and ceremonies (we do have some experts in D&C, but relatively few). That is not a goal. We produce experts in different specialties with some of those specialties having civilian equivalents and some specialties only appropriate for a military application. After all, civilian companies do not need a sniper or someone from Field Artillery, but those companies do need the intangible skills of leadership, attention to detail, etc.

We know that drill instills teamwork, leadership, followership, response to commands and a host of other attributes that trainees learn when attending Basic or Boot Camp. Those trainees receive their training from a Drill Sergeant, Drill Instructor or Training Instructor, depending on the branch of service, who is well versed in the service drill and ceremonies manual, of which there are three: 1) Training Circular 3-21.5 for the Army; 2) MCO P5060.20 for the Marine Corps, Navy and Coast Guard and; 3) AFMAN 36-2203 for the Air Force. These manuals are not meant to create drill experts in any branch of the military. Each branch of the military has a different manual for different levels of drill (i.e. honor guard manuals).

Installations and National Guard (NG) units have honor guards whose members perform ceremonial duties each day of their time on the team. The same goes for the Presidential Honor Guard units. While the installation and NG teams strive to achieve a certain level of ceremonial drill application, the Presidential teams maintain and even surpass the application level for each ceremonial element on a daily basis. However, there are only a certain number who could be considered experts, again, for our purposes. The general population are extremely good at the specifics of what they do, but would not be considered experts in the general sense.

To remedy the problem, Fort Sill, Oklahoma, now conducts the certification at brigade level. The change ensures a more consistent training experience for each Soldier, and has paved the way for standardization of drill sergeant certification Armywide.

Gragg said he hopes to standardize the requirements for drill sergeant certification across all four Basic Combat Training locations. The POI that would accomplish that should be in place by the end of 2016, he said.

Though Gragg praised the measures Fort Sill has taken to standardize certification across the brigade, he pointed out that the process still varies from one brigade to another. The fact that the 434th Field Artillery Brigade will soon be breaking down basic training under two Advanced Individual Training brigades, he said, further highlights the need for an even higher-level standard to maintain consistency.

Gragg said he hopes to have the POI completed by the fourth quarter of this year. Meanwhile, he is gathering feedback from the force as to what should be included. What are the most important perishable skills that drill sergeants need to brush up on every year? He is working to identify those areas and get drill sergeants the tools they need to keep those skills sharp and deliver the best training possible to U.S. Soldiers.

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I was 19 years old when I woke up with one drill sergeant looking in on another drill sergeant who lived in the home. I had no idea how I got there. This was August of 1978 at the One Station Unit Training Military Police Corps School at Ft. McClellan, AL.

I eventually did get a transfer next-door to the 21st Military Police Company as a rehabilitative transfer. Soon, I was being summoned at all different times of the day, including after hours by the new Platoon Sergeant (Sgt).

In 1980, I was at the Enlisted Club on post. The Platoon Sgt gave me lawful order to ride back with him to the company area. I left in his POV and soon found myself traveling to his off-post quarters.

When I walked into the JAG office that day, I knew I was in the midst of something bigger than me, but I was not prepared to hear the Major tell me my Battalion was after me because I reported my Platoon Sgt. The Platoon Sgt was court-martialed; his sentence was suspended, which meant no punishment. I later found out that he was put back on the E-7 list when I left Ft. Bragg.

I tried to transfer out of Ft. Bragg. From here, I filed a sexual discrimination case against my superiors and the Department of the Army. My case was dismissed in the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals in 1983.

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