Drill sergeants hope to show leadership skills

By Robert Timmons, Fort Jackson LeaderJuly 23, 2015

Drill Sergeant Leader auditions
Staff Sgt. Peter Hicks, an active Guard and Reserve member from Boise, Idaho, and Staff Sgt. Adam Sherwood, a drill sergeant with Echo Company, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Battalion on Fort Jackson, listen to a briefing by Sgt. Maj. Edward Roderique... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT JACKSON, S.C. (July 23, 2015) -- Only the cream of the crop rise to the top of their trade. For Army drill sergeants and Advanced Individual Training platoon sergeants, the apex of their crafts is to become drill sergeant leader or platoon sergeant leader.

Assessment and selection of DSLs and PSLs took place Tuesday and Wednesday, with open interviews at the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy on Fort Jackson.

When selected, the new leaders will be tasked with training Soldiers going through the academy.

The semiannual selection process consists of an interview and a physical fitness test in which the noncommissioned officers must pass each event with a score of 70 or higher.

Applicants come from all four Army Training Centers and the National Guard and Reserve, said Sgt. Maj. Edward Roderiques, deputy commandant for the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy. If a Soldier is selected to become a DSL, his losing unit will be able to fill the vacancy.

Soldiers from different training installations bring with them different skill sets, said Sgt. 1st Class Eugenio Serrano, a drill sergeant leader at the academy. For instance, a drill sergeant from Fort Benning, Georgia, will know about how training Infantry Soldiers at that post works, he said.

DSLs bear a large responsibility to improve the Army.

"It is very much a career-enhancement opportunity," Roderiques said. "It's a rare opportunity for them to give back to the Army."

Some of the prospective DSLs agreed.

"This is the chance to train the best NCOs there are that come through the Academy," said a nervous Staff Sgt. Adam Sherwood, a drill sergeant with Echo Company, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment on Fort Jackson.

DSLs are on a "whole other level" from a drill sergeant, Roderiques said. They will have double the attributes of a drill sergeant, such as being more confident and more fit.

Each candidate will be assessed on verbal expression, stability, knowledge and experience, social ability and military bearing by a board comprising academy leadership.

The interview process is different from others a Soldier might have undergone before.

"It's not a normal promotion board-type interview," Serrano said.

When Serrano interviewed for his current position, he was expecting a standard board and studied accordingly, he said, only to find that the questions asked were about his personality and motivation.

"It matters how positive you are going into it," Serrano said. "I was loud and motivated when answering questions from the board about myself. You are selected on your own abilities as a drill sergeant."

The candidates will go through a certification process before being able to wear the tan belt of a DSL. If the DSL is especially good, he can attain the status of senior DSL and wear a coveted green belt and become what Rodrigues said was the "PhD level of what it is to be a drill sergeant … masters of all aspects of the realm."

Related Links:

Army.mil: Army Drill Sergeant