FORT JACKSON, S.C. -- When Sgt. 1st Class Melba Staton went through initial training 18 years ago, she learned to fire her rifle the old-fashioned way, on the ground in the prone supported position with her support-side knee forward, and from inside a fox hole.
Now, as a drill sergeant for Company B, 3rd Battalion, 34th Infantry Regiment, Staton must master the new basic rifle marksmanship techniques along with new warrior tasks and battle drills, in order to train her troops.
Today, Soldiers in Basic Combat Training are still taught to fire their weapons while lying on the ground. But now, Soldiers are taught to shoot from the straight leg prone position. They're also being trained to shoot while standing up.
While some of these tasks may be routine for infantrymen, for drill sergeants like Staton - with a support military occupational specialty - mastering new combat skills might not come as second nature.
To help strengthen their warfighting capabilities, Staton and fellow drill sergeants assigned to the 3-34th are participating in a "train the trainer" program in which their more senior counterparts are schooling them on the basics.
"The cadre training program was designed within the battalion to give the new drill sergeants that first-hand grasp of what every Soldier needs to know," said Capt. Dana Norris, company commander. "Most of our senior drill sergeants are already aware of what we need to do to qualify our Soldiers.
"We are making sure our senior drill sergeants pass on the techniques and tactics that we use to train future Soldiers."
First instituted by the battalion in October, the quarterly weeklong course is designed to retrain and refresh newer drill sergeants on fundamental combat skills under the instruction of senior drill sergeants who have more expertise in certain areas, said Lt. Col. Bryan Hernandez, commander of the 3-34th.
"That new drill sergeant coming out of drill sergeant school, depending on what MOS or what type of unit he or she might have been in, might not be as proficient as other drill sergeants," said Staff Sgt. Mario Arce, senior drill sergeant for Company B. "This (training) is making sure everybody is at the same level, so we don't cheat the (initial entry) Soldiers at their level."
Arce is one of the senior cadre instructing classes during the battalion's second iteration of the program, which began Feb. 23 with classroom instruction and ends today with training on the Army's new physical fitness program.
During the past eight days, the drill sergeants trained in tasks mandated by the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command's program of instruction for initial-entry training Soldiers, to include newly prescribed changes made in recent months by Lt. Gen. Mark Hertling, deputy commanding general for Initial Military Training.
Those tasks included new basic rifle marksmanship tactics, advanced rifle marksmanship strategies, tactical combat casualty care (a newer form of combat lifesaver training), and more.
Staton, who completed drill sergeant school in July, said learning from peers who have already mastered newer warfighting techniques helps her shed some of the practices she had learned in the past and allows her to master new skills she will be required to relay to Soldiers in the future.
"Because I've been in (the Army) for so many years, I do things a certain way," Staton said. "My fellow cadre show me how it should be done in BCT, which is totally different from what I've learned. I want to teach the (new Soldiers) the right way they have to be taught, so when they move on from basic training and (Advanced Individual Training) to go on to permanent party, where they may have to deploy to Afghanistan or Iraq, they will feel confident they are using techniques already being used down range right now."
Norris said since the battalion began implementing the training program, he has noticed remarkable improvements among the cadre.
"From previous cycles, I can see where some of the new drill sergeants would come in not having the level of understanding as they would have coming straight out of drill sergeant school," Norris said, "But once we initiated this program I've seen a tremendous growth in knowledge."
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