Soldiers gather at Fort Jackson for Drill Sergeant School's 50th anniversary

By Wallace McBride, Fort Jackson LeaderSeptember 18, 2014

Drill Sergeant School 50th anniversary
1 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Retired drill sergeant Joe Terrell reviews Fort Jackson publications from the 1960s, on display for the Drill Sergeant Hall of Fame Ceremony, Sept. 12, 2014, at the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School at Fort Jackson, S.C.. Terrell was part of the first ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Drill Sergeant School 50th anniversary
2 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Command Sgt. Maj. Lamont Christian, left, commandant of the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School, and Sgt. Maj. Thomas Campbell, the IMT operations sergeant major, unveil the plaques of the inaugural class of the Drill Sergeant Hall of Fame Sept. 12, 2014... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Drill Sergeant School 50th anniversary
3 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Drill sergeants from six decades are present for the 50th anniversary of the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School Sept. 12, 2014, at Fort Jackson, S.C. The anniversary celebration concluded the week of the Drill Sergeant of the Year/Platoon Sergeant of th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Drill Sergeant School 50th anniversary
4 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Retired drill sergeants Isaac Thompson, left, and James Currie chat at the end of the Drill Sergeant Hall of Fame induction ceremony, Sept. 12, 2014, at the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School at Fort Jackson, S.C. Retired drill sergeants were invited to... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Drill Sergeant School 50th anniversary
5 / 5 Show Caption + Hide Caption – (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (Sept. 18, 2014) -- The U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School celebrated its 50th anniversary last week. By its very nature, the milestone was meant to mark the years that had passed. Retired drill sergeants from around the country gathered at Fort Jackson to help commemorate the event, and Soldiers both old and new reflected on how the role of the Army's trainers has evolved since the school was established in 1964.

Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Woods, command sergeant major for the U.S. Army Center for Initial Military Training at Fort Eustis, Virginia, said the school's history continues to inform the present and the future, and called 2014 a "year of firsts."

"What we want to do with this is have a reminder of the past that made possible our present, and we want to honor the past that makes possible our future," Woods said.

This year also saw the launch of a national Drill Sergeant Association, he said, during a ceremony at Fort Jackson Friday marking another new tradition -- the opening of the Drill Sergeant Hall of Fame.

The first Soldiers to be inducted into the hall of fame are:

-- Retired Command Sgt. Maj. Allan Glenn Carpenter

-- The late Master Sgt. John F. Baker,

-- Retired Command Sgt. Maj. John R. Calpena

-- The late Staff Sgt. Clayton Patrick Bowen

"Nobody outside of the drill sergeant fraternity understands what a drill sergeant and his family goes through," said Carpenter, who was also the Army's first Drill Sergeant of the Year. "As a kid coming from the country, running around barefoot, to be in the Hall of Fame of drill sergeants ... I have never received an honor greater than that."

Calpena was present at last week's Hall of Fame ceremony under the impression that he would be a guest speaker, and said he was surprised by his induction.

"I had no expectation that I could make a career out of the military," he said. "I felt like I didn't have the same character as my parents and grandparents had ... I felt like I needed to suffer. The Army gave me exactly what I asked for and I loved it."

Inductees are nominated by peers and selected by a committee made up of leadership from U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School and U.S. Army Center for Initial Military Training, as well as Drill Sergeant Association members.

Photographs and biographies for Hall of Fame inductees are on display in the Bowen Room at the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School.

"Each of you, as drill sergeants, has the opportunity to have your photo on this wall," Woods said. "All you have to do is be nominated by a member. If you've improved the program, if you've improved the way Soldiers train, if you've improved the life of a Soldier, then that is something that will be honored."

Also part of the 50th anniversary celebration was the creation of a time capsule, which was on display during the Hall of Fame induction ceremony.

"We want your stories, drill sergeants," Woods said. "Everything you've done in the past. Give us some of your history -- your time on the trail -- and we'll take it and place it in our time capsule. We want to secure your story and make it available in the future."

The time capsule is scheduled to be opened in 2039, the 75th anniversary of the drill sergeant program. Submissions for the time capsule are accepted at www.armydrillsergeants.com.

The Army's first drill sergeant school opened at Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, in 1964. The pilot program was launched a year earlier at Fort Jackson, where officers and NCOs were selected to participate in testing revised training concepts. The program's success resulted in the formation of the drill sergeant schools. In 2011, the newly-constructed U.S. Army Drill Sergeant School opened at Fort Jackson, where the consolidated school's first class graduated in 2012.

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