VA Military Memories Competition
AE2(AW) LaTonya N. Davison, U.S. Navy (1996-2010)
Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:
Picture it. Great Lakes, IL, 1996. This towering 6-foot-something man walks into the barracks bay, informing us he’ll be our division commander for the next 8 weeks. Intimidating from the jump, it took only a few days to realize he had a perfectly crafted persona to make sure we quickly established discipline and respect. Fred Pharr from North Carolina, who would later become the Commander, Naval Air Force Atlantic Force Master Chief, would be whipping 83 women into shape and making them into sailors.
Cpl Al Bogigian, U.S. Marines (1973-1988)
Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:
On August 30, 1990, one day before we graduated boot camp, Senior Drill Instructor Staff Sergeant Russell Whitney did something I’ve never forgotten: he brought a portable stereo out from the DI hut, plugged it into a stanchion outlet, and pressed play, all without saying a word, save for “Huddle up!” A few seconds later, Ben E. King’s “Stand by Me” began. The message was clear. I have goosebumps as I type this now. Platoon members clasped their arms around shoulders next to them. We cried perhaps silently, but replete with the emotion that comes with making it through boot camp together and thinking about what lies ahead. I just want to say thank you for doing what you did, Mr. Whitney, wherever you are now. This remains one of my favorite life moments; whenever I hear the song, that scene with Platoon 1086 comes alive.
SGT Lien Crum, U.S. Army (1987-1997)
Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:
There are many “war” stories I could tell, but this one is the one that I remember the most. It was one month before my 21st birthday that I found myself in Basic at Ft. Dix, NJ. It didn’t take long for me to learn that compared to Ft. Jackson, we were privileged to be assigned to “Fort Disneyland.” Yea right! For me, BC was a mental and physical challenge. I went through a very sheltered lifestyle. I was in for a rude awakening when I was faced with a whole new world of perseverance and survival.
SP5 Robert Artz, U.S. Army (1969-1975)
Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:
It was an early spring morning at US Army Headquarters Training Center Infantry, Fort Ord, California. A couple hundred new inductees (around 95% draftees – including myself) were gathered together by a handful of seasoned Drill Instructors with the objective of assembling Headquarters Company into Platoons and Squads. First job; select trainee Platoon and Squad leaders. It was Drill Sergeant Diamond who started the process by ordering all men who graduated college to fall out and line up on the side of the parking lot. I was classified II-S until I graduated in early 1969. I was 22 years old – one of the older men in this group. With Vietnam going crazy, Uncle Sam was calling up even us old guys.
MAJ Montgomery J. Granger, U.S. Army (1986-2008)
Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:
I am a Mustang officer, now a retired major, spent five years enlisted as a Combat Medic and then attended OCS and had a 22 year career in the Army, including deployments to Gitmo and Iraq. I attended Basic Training at Fort Blist(er), TX, in the fall of 1987. I consider my Drill Sergeants as near perfect human beings. I was there after completing six years of college, including a BS Ed., and MA degrees in teaching.
MSG Derrick L. King, U.S. Army (1983-2010)
Do You Remember Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors Names From Basic Training? Recount Any Specific Memories of Your Drill Sergeants/Instructors and How They Shaped You as a New Recruit:
I remember the boots hitting the pavement before I ever saw his face. I remember the cadence of authority in his voice before I even knew his name. But when I finally met him Staff Sergeant Bailey there was no doubt in my mind: this man was built different. Not just in his physical presence, though he looked like a machine carved from steel, but in his mindset, his discipline, and the way he commanded respect without ever needing to demand it. SSG Bailey wasn’t just my Drill Sergeant in Basic Training he became the model of what a man, a leader, and a warrior should be.