Foxholes and Dogtags

Drill Sergeant Leaders

There isn't a whole lot going on in my military life between Drills. While I was washing my uniforms today (took me long enough to get to them, I know) I was thinking about army life and my career thus far, and thinking back to how things were when I first joined and how they are now. I also go through these thoughts in a way to better myself as a Drill Sergeant.

Then I went back to my first day of Drill Sergeant School, and remembered the only time I was absolutely petrified was that first day. My DSL came through the squad, sized me up and then told me to say the Drill Sergeant Creed, which fled for higher ground from my head. I was also asked to rattle off the module for the Position of Attention. That fled my brain as well.

My DSL scared the crap out of me. I couldn't think straight, all I could think of was what I could do to stay out of her war path when she immediately dogged me on my hair (my bane in army life) and she didn't even drop me.

I'll admit that I swore more curses under my breath at my DSL then I would care to fess up too. She pissed me off in more way then one because she was ALWAYS getting on me for something. Anything she could, really.

When she talked to me about how she treated me later, she admitted she was particularly hard on me, but she did it to get me to become better. I realized at DSS that Sergeants have a different mentality then Privates. I had the right mentality when I went to Basic Training because I didn't know any better and I went to Basic with that in mind, I was entering something completely new and different then anything I was used to. And I excelled because I did what I had to do.

When I went to DSS, I went with a lot of people and we all knew what to expect out of the army, that we had been in for at least five years (many had been in for ten to fifteen) and 80% were combat war veterans. We knew how the army ran, and to revert back to that mentality of the ignorant private who doesn't know better was extremely hard. I went there initially with the right attitude, just do what they say and don't take it personal (that is the advice to give to any private) but when you are with a lot of fellow soldiers who are all bitching and complaining, it rubs off. And DSS wasn't entirely how I expected it to be. I think I would have gotten more out of it if they had locked us down, put us in bays and made us do Barracks Maintenence instead of giving us maid service and privacy with evenings and weekends off.

We had a lot of DSLs there too, and you could take lessons from all of them, based on how or how not to do something. And I have discovered that the poor leader can be as effective a teacher as the strong leader, you can take something from each of them and learn how to effectively lead troops by knowing what works and what doesn't.

One thing I learned was the yelling and screaming is only effective for a short period of time. In today's army, which is not the same army as Vietnam (for one, we are all still volunteers), you have to get discipline from your troops but at the same time they need to know that you are approachable and that you care about them. But you still have to maintain that line that you are not their friend, your are their leader. You can't effectively discipline somebody if you are buddy buddy with them, I learned this from a leader who tried too hard to be a friend rather then a sergeant, and mentorship went right out the window.

Yelling and screaming are only effective when you are trying to instill discipline those first three weeks, and you should avoid smiling at all. (the drill sergeant solution when soldiers do something funny, which is all the freakin' time, turn away from them or get out of the vicinity so they don't see you busting a gut). After that, you move into the mentorship phase, more of a coach then a strict disciplinarian. When they screw up, you get on their case and revert back to those first three weeks if you need to.

But sometimes, all you have to do is set them into a guilt trip.

From the soldier who got caught with a cell phone in his pocket which he found in the shoppette that turned out to belong to one of the employees (I don't think I have ever seen a soldier that scared before but that is a prime example of a shark attack) to the soldier caught passing a pornagraphic note to another soldier in First Platoon (and she was one of mine). I have come to accept that there will be private stories from each cycle, that I will remember some of these soldiers all to well while others will pass into the back of my consciousness, and that how you deal with each soldier will vary as the cycle goes.

I learned that I didn't jump on one soldier properly when I first went to Fort Jackson, and I tried several methods of working with this soldier, who had great potential but lacked severely in discipline. And I found out that when I talked to him I got my message through a lot better then when I yelled at him and tried to smoke him.

I wish I could have stayed through the cycle and watched these soldiers graduate, as I saw a lot of development in the two weeks I was there. I look forward to spending the full solid nine weeks next summer (or ten, if they are still on this ten week program) with these soldiers and watching them go from flabby out of shape civilians to tough and physically fit warriors.

Warriors. Hmm. I guess I'd take that over Battle Buddy.

My First Soldiers Graduated

Echo 3-60 graduated this week from Basic training at Relaxin' Jackson. I wished I could have been there but I knew I had other events coming up that prevented me from staying, though I wanted too.

That, and there wasn't a slot available for me to stay.

There is a lot of things I still need to learn about being a Drill Sergeant, and I'm sure I'll learn plenty at Fort Knox next summer, mostly cultivate the Red Phase Drill Sergeant in me. She's buried in there somewhere.

I also need to get some action shots of me in the hat. I so far have none.

Firing the M2 50 Cal

When I was on the trail, I learned that in Fort Jackson, they fire the 50 Cal when they do US Weapons, which is a weapon I had never had the privelege of firing before. They don't fire M2s at the US weapons range in Fort Leonard Wood, so I should get to fire it, right? That's only fair, right?

So I butted in the middle of the line of privates waiting to fire it and I got my hands on that thing of beauty. I've been in the army for nearly eight years and never got to play with one.

One small problem with me firing the 50 Cal, it takes a little upper body strength and a certain technique to pull that charging handle back.

Drill Sergeant doesn't have that technique down.

I may have mentioned that when I throw on a Kevlar or a soft cap, I blend in with the basic trainees a little to much.

My battles afterward got down and mocked my two handed struggle on the charging handle. I can only laugh at myself.

My 'Six' (which should never be called thus)

Today is the eight year anniversary of me enlisting in the military. If I hadn't reupped last year, I would have been out and free!

But instead, I'm still serving, having just recently been promoted to Staff Sergeant and enjoying myself and the prospect of going to Fort Knox next summer.

I also got pictures of my Promotion in October. My official date of promotion is September 1, but it took them a while to pin me. And under the circumstances, well, I would have rather been able to put on a soft cap but if they made me get pinned in a Kevlar, I'm ok with it.

To really show how short I am, my battle Guilin (the tallest guy in our squad) pinned me. He had a mentorship role with me in that he tried to pass on his knowledge without smacking me upside the head, which he wanted to do on more then one occasion. He's artillery, so he's not used to dealing with women and our many little issues. In fact, he was elated to get Benning, one time during a mix up he thought his orders had gotten changed to Jackson and I swear he was about to have a breakdown, because he was certain he would end up in jail if he had to train females.

Don't get me wrong, he's a good guy, but I don't know if he was sure how to take me.

In fact, I'm sure the thought going through his mind at this moment is 'how do I do this without being slapped with a sexual harrassment suit?'

He still punched me in the chest to simulate my blood rank which is velcroed on. Not to hard though.

"Look at me, I got a rocker!"

I look so ate up in this picture, Buck Sergeant on my helmet, Staff Sergeant on my chest, and I appear drunk. I didn't really want to be pinned with my kevlar on for this reason, because the Kevlar rank is sew on and it wasn't worth my time to get it sewn on correctly. Oh well.

Of course, with every promotion there is the expected Speech, which I should have prepared for but didn't and therefore I butchored it royally. But it wasn't as painful as my E2 promotion speech, which was in front of about five hundred people and at the time I sucked at public speaking. I still do, but I don't get as nervous these days. You can't fear public speaking and be a drill sergeant, because you are always in front of a platoon of privates ranging from 30 to 64 strong. Just show nervousness in front of your platoon, I dare you. They'll eat you alive.

Shortly therafter, I put on my LBV and it looked like I was a Buck Sergeant again.

I have learned that you should never refer to Staff Sergeant as 'Six', as there is a difference between rank and pay grade. An NCO and an E6 are not always the same thing. Of course, I have learned this lesson the hard way.

But I think I can consider myself now officially an NCO, it's good to feel like I've actually led troops in the five year period of being a Sergeant, which I wasn't always able to claim. I guess that's why, especially in Kosovo, why I considered myself an Overpaid Private. I was getting the pay of a sergeant but I was never given the opportunity to get the responsibility and since I learn through trial and error in a lot of things I do, and I have made plenty of mistakes in my career, in the past if I failed at something, instead of getting the opportunity to learn from my mistakes, I was 'fired' and threatened with the removal of my MOS, which, by the way, is ludacris.

One thing I can claim I learned while in Drill Sergeant School, I think I finally learned how to be a Sergeant.

Pics of DSS

Our Drill Sergeant Leaders in Drill Sergeant School had a camera that came around and took pictures during our training, and before I left, I managed to get those pictures.

I'm going to embed some of them in my BCT posts along the side, though I won't necessarily be in the picture, because I wasn't in every picture seeing there was 120 of us, though if I had been in First Squad I would have had a plethora of pictures of me. However, I fished through some of the pictures just to give you a feel of what DSS looked like. But specifically, with ME in them.

One of my favorites however, wasn't a picture. It was a video. Of me doing Bayonet training. I love bayonet, it's one of my favorite things about the BCT environment, because it's a day where you just let it out, the frustration, the anger, the saliva! You grunt, spit, kick in the knee, tell a momma joke, along with butt stroke, slash, smash, thrust, it's just a violent army day!

Of course, while we were having the bayonet demonstrated, we sometimes sat and watched, and thus I got this somewhat incriminating photograph of me with my hands on the rifle not in quite the preferred method.

My excuse, er, the sheath was on the bayonet. Sure, yeah, that's it.

I've also got this curse that if I'm smiling, I look like I'm about 12. And when I don't smile, I look like I want to kill something.

Here, the Drill Sergeant Candidates look scarier then the Drill Sergeants. Can you find me? *hint- I'm the short one with the big head*

Another shot where I appear to have a huge desire to kill something with the rifle I'm shouldering.

FYI, that rifle's dust cover never wanted to stay closed.

This would be a cool profile shot, if it wasn't for my dual chins. Thankfully, DSS helped me tone up and lose weight. A good thing. Yes.

PT Modulating! So much fun! < / sarcasm >. But you can see the very nice NCOA living quarters in the background. It felt like I was in Boarding School or something. Sure, we had uniforms and a bunch of people shouting at us, I'll buy the comparison.

We just phased, from Red Phase to White Phase. It doesn't have quite the same meaning with drill sergeant candidates as it does with Privates. For one, don't we look thrilled?

Possibly another incriminating photograph. We are at attention. See me? I'm not looking ahead.

Eh, so sue me.

We had the Confidence Course earlier that week. Hence, the nasty bruise during Combat Life Saver course. My DSLs were very impressed.

We supposedly had some more pictures involving us doing Combatives, but I somehow didn't get those. . .

Or the pugils for that matter. . .

This makes me very sad.

The Only Constant Is Change

I had been thinking quite a bit lately, especially during Drill Sergeant School, how much the army has changed since I have come into it. In fact, there have been a lot of changes in the last few years, especially in Basic Combat Training.

To start. . .

2000	2007
The Black Beret was the sign of a ranger	Everybody wears a black beret unless they are a basic trainee, Ranger, Special Forces, or belong in an Airborne Unit. Oh, and Drill Sergeants.
The PT Uniform consisted of grey cotton and sweats.	The PT Uniform is 'improved' with reflective print that still requires the use of a reflective vest.
There was the Battle Dress Uniform with the camouflage print that we have all come to know and associate with the military.	The Army Combat Uniform, with a lot of velcro and a digital print which the Marines think we stole the idea from them.
Be All You Can Be	Army Strong (and lest we forget Army of One)
Black Combat Boots, and the military tradition of the Spit Shine	Brown 'Desert' Combat Boots, and a huge dive in the Stock Shares of Kiwi
Qualification with the rifle consisted of 20 rounds from the Foxhole and 20 rounds from the Prone Unsupported	Qualification has nixed the Foxhole completely, now we fire 20 from the prone supported, 10 from Prone Unsupported, and 10 from the Kneeling position
Full battle Rattle meant an LCE and a Kevlar, and a rucksack which was sometimes optional.	Full Battle Rattle includes Body Armor (IBA or Flaq vest), which is nice when you are getting shot at, but otherwise sucks.
BCT Physical Training consisted of a series of exercises taken from FM21-20 PT Manual which included whatever the Drill Sergeant could think up	BCT Physical training is a carefully structured program known as SPT that is to be followed strictly (but sometimes isn't)
We were at Peace, except for Kosovo	We are at war, and still in Kosovo.
In BCT, we saw our weapons when we went to the range or if we were cleaning them.	In BCT, the private has their weapon with them at all times, unless they are going to sick call or the Latrine.
Kitchen Police was a loathed part of BCT	KP is nixed from the schedule (this is a good thing!)
The machine gun was an M60	The Machine Gun is an M240B
The K-pot was a Kevlar Helmet.	Phasing in the Army Combat Helmet (ACH)
MOUT training was a skill felt needed by Combat Arms units	MOUT is considered a common task necessary to be known by all soldiers
LOMAH (location of misses and hits) consisted of soldiers behind a shelter downrange raising and lowering targets so that the soldiers firing could see them.	LOMAH is computerized and much more efficient.

Ok, I know there is more then that but as I was brainstorming that was some of the things I came up with, and of course, there continues to be change. And I think there will continue to be more and more change.

Change can be good! But sometimes the army's mantra is "f it ain't broke, fix it til it is!" Can be annoying sometimes.

Kill More Baby Seals

So I've graduated Drill Sergeant School.

And I've already been on the trail, which a lot of my battle buddies from DSS can't say, unless they are at Fort Leonard Wood in which case their units were expecting them back with open arms and about 60 privates to baby sit.

Drill Sergeant School doesn't prepare you for being a drill sergeant like I expected it would, and so I was a bit apprehensive going on the trail. But it was interesting how quickly I got into the routine. I didn't tell my privates how long I had been a drill sergeant nor did I answer any questions about my personal life, including how old I was. They asked if I was about 20 to 21 years old most of the time. Flattering really, but youth is not what you want as a Drill Sergeant, you are supposed to portray an authoritive figure and it's somewhat hard to do when you are a short blonde female Staff Sergeant that is mistaken for a private whenever you take off your drill sergeant hat. Thus, it is my curse.

But it is something that can come in handy when you wish to spy on privates. As long as their are female privates in your company at least.

It does get old, however, when the acting first sergeant gets on you several times for not being in formation or wondering where your battle buddy is only to realize immediately after chewing you out exactly who you are. I was a pretty good sport about it.

So, I'm a young drill sergeant that just recently got a hat, trying to learn how to be a drill sergeant while I'm on the job. Amazingly enough, you fall right into it and it comes easier then you expect it too. Especially with Blue Phase Privates.

Blue phase in this day and age is nothing like how I remember it.

You can't treat Blue Phase Privates the way you treat Red Phase Privates. Meaning you can't yell at them all of the time (though it is important to raise your voice here and there so they know that you have a little bite to you). i learned this in Drill Sergeant School that if you keep up the red phase yell all throughout the nine weeks, the privates begin to phase you out thinking 'oh, there goes Drill Sergeant again. What are they yelling about now?'

It was actually a big learning phase for me to fall in on Blue Phase Privates. Blue Phase Privates are given a little more freedom and a little less supervision, and they have their own student chain of command that they fall under. When I was in basic, we had a Platoon guide and Squad leaders and that was about it. I don't remember my squad leaders doing much of anything except report in the morning. The PG however, was busy then and he continues to be busy in the current basic training set up. Some things never change. However, I wasn't expecting the privates to be given so much responsibility that it kind of threw me when I got there. I'm used to total lock down for nine weeks, and that was what I was expecting. So it was a challenge for me to learn what the privates knew and coordinate it to what I knew, so I spent the first two days not smoking anybody and just watching to see how things ran. I kind of kept my distance for a bit, except for when it came to handing out mail.

Mail consisted of me butchering everybody's name and after seeing the same name come up twice, this was followed by the command of 'Push'. They fought me for a moment, seeing as their other drill sergeants from the past made them push after they got three pieces of mail but I quickly put a stop to that as I made it two pieces. that was my rule. You got two pieces or more of mail, you had to push for it. Not that I really enforced it.

It was a win win situation really. The privates got a little more PT in, and PT is always a good thing, and it gave me an excuse to make them excercise and fine tune my Drill Sergeantese. Mail call is always fun for that kind of stuff.

Now, in Red Phase, you nail privates for anything and everything they are doing wrong, but Blue Phase you have to choose your battles. Especially if you are falling in on some rules that your battle buddies before you have set that you may or may not know. And it's not ever fun when the privates tell you about how they do things, like standing up for Revele and Retreat indoors, which I have never seen in my military career.

So I chose my battles. One, that the privates learned really quick, was weapons accountability. If I got a weapon, I smoked a private. And I got weapons a lot at first. They quickly learned to keep that thing within arms reach because if I grabbed it before they did, well, they were wrong. And they had to pay with something physical, like front back go or three to five second rushes. Or eight count pushups. Whatever I thought up at the time. sometimes I let them sweat it out while I mulled it over in my head how I would make them pay.

I think if I got there earlier in the cycle I would have made an issue of the parade pretty and the cutesy voice that the females gave. I got on that pretty quick, but it was more on the spot corrections then actual smoking. In fact, i was making a lot of on the spot corrections for standing at Parade Rest when talking to me. Sometimes I would just stare at their feet if they were at Parade Attention or start mimicking their movements when they were using their hands to communicate until they got the point. I dropped a few people for it, but I really didn't get on a whole lot of people for it because I'm not used to people standing at Parade Rest and I'm not getting a huge ego trip out of it because quite honestly I could care less if somebody stands at parade rest when talking to me. But I had to remind myself it wasn't that they were talking to me, but that they were talking to a Drill Sergeant and that had to be enforced.

I don't think in my entire military career I have ever enforced a lower enlisted soldier talking to me at parade rest until my time at Jackson. I have to make sure I stay on that.

Well, all drill sergeants have their little pet peeve that they get on (mine being weapons accountability and muzzle awareness) and they also have their little fun side. Mine being screwed up cadences. I can't sing, but I do have a sense of humor and my cadences were ones I learned over the years that had something to do with death and killing. Those are my favorite kinds. Not that I'm a sick and twisted person, because I kind of am, but because singing cadences about death and violence seems pretty Army to me. I mean, isn't this an organization that is dedicated to the destruction of the enemy? We need to desensitize ourselves to the prospect that there may be a time we might have to kill somebody.

Granted, I'm just a drill sergeant that suffers from Combat Patch envy due to lack of one, but I am training privates and we have to find some way to impart into them the fact that they are joining the United States Army.

I know a lot of running cadences, and as long as I have breath in my body, I can call cadence at a run, including my favorite from my basic training days. I've only heard my drill sergeant call the 3-6-9, goose drank wine cadence, and now I call it to my soldiers. Of course, theres the When I Get to Heaven/Hell Cadences that I love as well.

And then there is the Baby Seal cadence.

I actually recently learned this cadence but love it because it's so rediculous that it's hilarious. I mean, who would seriously want to kill a baby seal? I know there are people out there that do it, and they are sick and twisted people because look how freakin' adorable baby seals are.

Well, most of my privates understood the humor of the Killing the Baby Seals cadence that it became a regular. But a couple didn't like it. Understandable, but please, we don't kill baby seals in the army. But its gritty, which makes it fun! Because I would never want to kill a baby seal. I promise!

Way Up North Where the Air is cold
We're Running out of Money and We're Running out of Gold
So Now I Earn My Living
Killing the baby Seals

You can hit 'em with a bat, you can Hit 'em with a Brick
Poke 'em in the eye with your Eye Pokin' Stick
That's How I earn my living
Killing the Baby Seals

You can smash 'em in the head, you can Slash 'em in the Throat
Throw 'em in the back of your fishing Boat
That's how I Earn My living
Killing the baby Seals

I got to get with one of my battles from DSS to get the rest of the verses to this cadence.

Ironically enough, another popular cadence was the Ugly Cadence, which sounds like Count Cadence instead it goes by Ugly instead. Ironic because it was the bane of Cold Steel's existence for my basic training. Recon called it to us and we never let it go the rest of the time we were there. Because it was deserved. We tried to sound off with Motivated and we sounded deplorable! But I couldn't shake it so I remembered it all this time and taught it to my privates.

They loved it! In fact, they were trying to learn it so that whoever was calling it *the PG* could call it when I left.

Drill Sergeant - Count Cadence, Wait a Minute, Ugly Cadence, COUNT!
Privates - U!
You are Ugly!
G!
And You're Momma Too!
L!
I am So Glad!
Y!
I Don't Look Like You!

U
Hit It
G
Hit It
L
Count It
Y
Bring it down Now!

U - G - L - Y
You Ain't Got No Alibi
You Ugly, Hey, Hey You Ugly
Hooah!

I should tell my Battle Glor from Recon that I taught my privates her Platoon's infamous dog on mine. She would be proud :)

Of course, we also had our Platoon's smoke session where I got a little Grass Drill in, which is funny because I hated Grass Drills in Basic but loved them in AIT because when we did Grass Drills in AIT, we weren't doing them to get smoked, and it was like fond memories of Basic training. And they are indeed in FM 21-20 so Grass Drills are allowed. From my understanding at least.

Oh yes, the Front Back Go. The bane of Privates from my time everywhere. My privates had only done them once when I got there, and they were a little hesitant on this. A few had done them for Football in high school or something but it wasn't the same. Grass Drills are fun. Don't let anybody tell you otherwise. You just have to go with the flow of it.

Three to five second rushes are fun too. Unless you are out of breath. And you are covered in mud. From head to toe. And you are the only one in your entire company covered in mud from head to toe. And you acquire the name Mudpuppy and Pigpen from your drill sergeants.

No, those are fond memories.

My privates had fun with me though. I think it cracked them up to see me go into drill sergeant mode because they would sick me on other privates and watch. Like the three privates from the echo company in another batallion across the way. They were doing excercises apparently and just walked in the grass in our company area. I didn't see them at first because well, my battle buddies weren't enforcing the 'don't walk on the grass' rule and it was one of those battles I wasn't fighting but my privates alerted it to me and so I walked up to these three privates with my hat on and chewed them out (didn't drop them, but I should have). I think the stark terror on their red phase faces when they realized that I was a drill sergeant was priceless, I look back now and find it funny as hell. Hehe. My privates thought so too.

There was also a case during the FTX where one of my soldiers was pointing out things that the other troops in the company was doing wrong and sit back and watch as I went over there and chewed them up about it. You can't be nervous when you do this, because you just charge into a crowd of 130 privates and tell them what for. They would then bust up laughing and I would have to chew them out for that, though I think they must have known I was somewhat joking around becuase of my demeanor and how I was chewing them out. I was in drill mode, but my privates knew me well enough that they knew I was having fun with it too. Of course, my little nark, who I will effectionately call my Blue Falcon, got a hint when I called him thus that maybe he shouldn't be pointing out the deficiencies of his battle buddies. I've got to fine tune my meanness, they don't take me seriously enough. And female drills are supposed to be the scary ones.

Well, I'm a reserve drill sergeant, and in my opinion my arrangement sucks because i come in sometime during the 9 weeks, take over as drill sergeant from a drill sergeant that the privates have bonded with who have had their own way of doing things for the last few weeks and by the time I get things figured out and feel like I'm getting somewhere, I have to leave so a new drill sergeant can take over.

My privates asked to be smoked one last time. So I dropped fourth platoon and made them drop in cadence of Up, Down. I would have dropped with them except I wanted to get it on camera as i was so proud that when i called Down they sounded off with "kill more" and on Up they called out "Baby Seals!"

My little troopies came up with that all on their own. I'm so proud.

Of course, when one of them came up to me and told me they were going to miss me, I told them with a straight face "Don't you dare hug me."

They're going to miss me. They didn't want me to go. I wasn't apparently doing my job right.

What's more, they said they are going to look me up on MySpace. I somehow let slip that I have one.

What's more, searching for Drill Sergeant Erickson on myspace brings people here. So I am traceable.

Damn.

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