Defending Drill Sergeants
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One trick to being a Drill Sergeant is winging it. You see something, you correct it instantly. You snap at a moment's notice. Sometimes you don't think things through. This can be a problem, indeed. I made a mistake this weekend. It wasn't something I was going to lose my hat over, but it did have the first sergeant coming up to me and asking me 'did you do this?' I won't go into detail on what I did, but it was something I should have thought a little more through, especially considering I'm a Preventive Medicine Specialist. I did take credit for what happened though, I'm a firm believer in taking responsibility for my actions and when I screw up, I screw up. Fortunately, the one private who complained appeared to exaggerate on what I did, where as some of the other privates who were present stepped up and set the record straight, explaining that indeed, I was doing my job in trying to get the soldiers to hurry, and I was being a drill sergeant. What I made them do probably caused them to be a little more miserable then necessary, and if I hadn't gone on the fly and had thought through it a little more, I wouldn't have done what I did. This had me thinking about a circumstance with a DS M and a PVT C, names abbreviated, that I knew when I went through Basic Training. DS M, who I could tell once you got him out of his hat was a really nice guy, but a very effective drill sergeant, was coaching PVT C (who was in my Platoon) on weapons training. He had her in the prone unsupported position and was talking to her, and I remember watching from the stands as I was on a brief break and I observed from my stance what was happening. DS M was trying to get PVT C's attention and when it appeared she wasn't looking at him, he gave her a light thump on the Kevlar with his palm. She put in a complaint against him because he hit her. Granted, as a Drill Sergeant, you are not allowed to touch a private, and when you do, it is generally to correct a uniform issue or for training purposes, and you have to make them aware that you are going to touch them to make sure it is ok. DS M probably shouldn't have given PVT C a slight thump on the kevlar. He was reacting, and Drill Sergeants react best. PVT C wasn't listening to him and he gave her a light smack on the kevlar. PVT C will not suffer permanent damage for what DS M did. But DS M was under investigation for that little act, and fortunately for him, I observed the whole thing because I wrote a statement and though PVT C was one of my battle buddies, I defended his actions. Drill Sergeants are human, and DS M didn't hit her, he gave her a light thump on the Kevlar. He was still there when we graduated. I look back and I realize that I would have defended most of my drill sergeants for their actions over other privates, especially PVT C who followed me for Fire Guard and holy hell would that girl not wake up for her shift. Once I smacked her on the arm because I was tired and wanted to go back to bed and I wanted her to hurry and wake up (because I had already come around to wake her up before) she threw a fit on me that I hit her. Well, I smacked her because she was sleeping into her shift. Strangely enough, she was cool most of the time, but hell, what did she think she just joined, the girl scouts? A light tap on the Kevlar or a smack on the arm is not going to kill you. I wish more people had a greater sense of Common Sense. Hell, DS W came up to me while I was waiting to get on the range and smacked me on the kevlar with the rodding iron for no good reason and walked off. I just thought it was funny as hell. After all, he hit me on the kevlar, it wasn't as if he hit me on the head with the thing. Some Privates get it. Some are too sensitive.
Posted by Erickson on 6:13 PM : (((
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1 Comments:
I suppose in the past, there were some real abuses of authority that went on so now the pendulem swings back to where the trival is considered tramatic.
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