Fort Sill NCOs vie for Drill Sergeant of Year

By Jeff Crawley, Fort Sill CannoneerJune 30, 2015

Rappel
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Drill Sergeant (Staff Sgt.) Franco Peralta, D Battery, 1st Battalion, 31st Field Artillery, rappels down Treadwell Tower April 29, 2015, during the Fort Sill Drill Sergeant of the Year competition. He was one of five drill sergeants competing for th... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
Swiss seat score
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Evaluators (wearing black) score drill sergeants (Sgt. 1st Class) Calyl Cecilio (left), (Staff Sgt.) Sophia Burdulinski (right) and (Staff Sgt.) Mario Camacho (far background) at the ground Swiss seat training event during the Drill Sergeant of the Y... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

FORT SILL, Okla. (May 7, 2015) -- Drill Sergeant Franco Peralta wanted to know if he had what it took to become the Fort Sill Drill Sergeant of the Year (DSoY).

"I'm always looking for bigger challenges, and I was up for this one," said Peralta, a staff sergeant with D Battery, 1st Battalion, 31st Field Artillery.

Peralta and four other drill sergeants from 434th Field Artillery Brigade competed to become DSoY, April 27 through May 1 here. The winner will be named May 7.

Other competitors were Sgt. 1st Class Calyl Cecilio, E Battery, 1st Battalion, 19th Field Artillery; Staff Sgt. Sophia Burdulinski, F Battery, 1st Battalion, 40th Field Artillery; Staff Sgt. Mario Camacho, E Battery, 1st Battalion, 79th Field Artillery; and Staff Sgt. Hunter Perkins, E Company, Defense Language Institute English Language Center -- San Antonio, which is attached to Fort Sill.

Burdulinski competed for the second straight year, though this year she took a different approach.

"I prepared more, but it was a little difficult because I was in-cycle training Soldiers," said Burdulinski, who is begining her third year on the trail. "I made it a point to teach all tasks (to trainees), so that it would prep me for the competition."

To make it to DSoY, the drill sergeants went through a battery-level contest then competed or were selected to represent their battalions.

Current Fort Sill DSoY (Staff Sgt.) Lindsay Hultman, designed the course to reflect what the winner will face at the Training and Doctrine Command contest at Fort Jackson, S.C., in September.

The weeklong competition evaluated drill sergeants on their abilities to teach Basic Combat Training Soldiers, as well as on warrior tasks; weapons qualification and familiarity; physical fitness; combatives; military bearing; written and oral communication skills; and Army knowledge.

The competitors didn't know the order of events or their scores on a particular task.

"You never knew what to expect next, and they throw a lot of stuff at you," said Peralta on Day 3. "It's tough, but it's good."

What does it take to win?

Speaking from her experience, Hultman said: "It takes a lot of discipline and personal motivation, and just wanting to push yourself, better yourself, getting outside your comfort zone to really see what you're capable of doing."

Peralta said he did not know his fellow competitors before the DSoY. Even though it is a competition against each other they have bonded, and encouraged each other during the events.

Burdulinski said she would recommend the DSoY competition to her peers.

"Win, lose or draw it's worth it," she said. "People win championships because they tried and did it with hard work, putting themselves out there even when odds were against them."

The Fort Sill DSoY acts as the liaison between the nearly 300 drill sergeants and the 434th FA Brigade commander and command sergeant major, as they all work together to improve Basic Combat Training.

Over the past year, Hultman has been busy certifying new drill sergeants and is now working with Reserve drill sergeants coming in for the summer surge.

Once her DSoY reign is completed, Hultman said she will remain at the 434th FA Brigade and assist with Initial Entry Training and Advanced Individual Training.