Not every high school athlete gets the privilege of training with a U.S. Army drill sergeant, meeting a Special Forces officer, marching on the Bradley Center court during a game, and going back to tell about it.
A group of 18 students from Wisconsin's high schools were selected to participate in the Warrior Athlete Drill Challenge March 28. This event marked the second year the Milwaukee Recruiting Battalion and the Milwaukee Bucks collaborated to assemble Wisconsin's top youth with the Army's premier trainers.
The battalion invited drill sergeants from the Mobile Exhibitor Drill Sergeant Program, U.S. Army Accessions Support Brigade, to engage the athletes in a challenge that went beyond their capacities to do push-ups or sit-ups. It challenged them to rethink their ideas about what a drill sergeant does.
Emily Drewek, an Athens High School senior, said she learned how teamwork plays a significant part in the Army even though there is an emphasis on individual fitness.
"(The drill sergeants) try to make you better and don't yell at you, they inspire you," Drewek said. "Also that they are dedicated and never give up on what they are doing."
Drewek is a basketball, track and cross country athlete but she described the Warrior Athlete Drill Challenge as "a lot harder, I couldn't believe that they do that stuff for hours."
Ian McKechnie, a New Berlin Eisenhower High School senior, said the drills were also more intense than the normal sports drills he's used to.
"I have a much increased level of respect for the Soldiers because of all the work they put into being a Soldier in the Army," McKechnie said. "It's quite exhausting and we only did a portion of what they normally do."
Staff Sgt. Shahin Oskouei, a mobile exhibitor drill sergeant, said his goal was to educate youth on the various facets of a drill sergeant.
"(Youth) think that all you are is a nightmare and that all you do is yell. But you break it down to them and show them that your main purpose is to teach and influence them to grow as better Americans," Oskouei said.
Staff Sgt. Dusty Davis, an Iron Mountain Company recruiter, said introducing youth to drill sergeants helps to dispel myths about them.
"The biggest fear that I encounter (among prospects and Future Soldiers) is what a drill sergeant is like," Davis said.
"Hopefully when they go back to their schools they can speak about what a drill sergeant is really like and maybe help prospects in their potential decision to join the Army."
Participants also had the privilege of meeting a Special Forces officer who suffered injuries to include blindness from a deployment.
Capt. Ivan Castro, Special Operations Recruiting Battalion, relayed to the participants a message of patriotism and service to the nation in spite of differences that polarize the country.
"If I could do it all over again, knowing that it would cost me, would I do it' The answer is yes because I believe in the mission. I would even deploy now if my command would allow me," Castro said during his remarks.
Sgt. 1st Class Enrico Leak, another mobile exhibit drill sergeant, said Castro's message and what he has done in service to the nation will resonate for a long time with everyone who was at the event.
"He (Castro) let them know that even though this is what happened to (him) he never gave up," Leak said. "That's a message that's relevant to both Soldiers and civilians."
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