Tips for Effectively Representing a Drill Sergeant?

[Vrock_Summoner]

Hey guys! It’s pretty much right what it says on the tin. I get what a drill sergeant’s purpose is - break down the recruits and get them accustomed to following orders without question - and I know between TV and some Internet testimony from soldiers that a lot of the time they just spitball anything that they can make sound intimidating. But can anybody give me some general-purpose tips for how to portray a drill sergeant who’s doing his job well? I’m going to run a game taking the characters through military training (granted, training very different from a modern soldier’s, but the drill sergeant is still an essential figure) and while I don’t honestly expect (or really want) to intimidate the players, I’d like to at least make a convincing facsimile of the experience for the characters.

[BreaktheStatue]

Full Disclosure: I was an US Army soldier (no, I won't capitalize 'soldier'), non-combat arms, from just before the Iraq War, to the early 20-teens. Experiences may differ wildly, depending on branch, MOS, and time period people served, so I can't claim to represent everyone.

Main Point: Being a drill sergeant SUCKS, they are people just like the rest of us, and a lot of the tough-guy stuff they pull is actually to keep each other entertained, more than it is to scare recruits.

I never was one (thank God), but just from observation, and talking to guys who were (after I became a "real soldier"), I made that conclusion. They have to get there before the recruits get-up, and stay after the recruits leave, handle all the logistics, make sure no one commits suicide, and they're 100% accountable for all the new recruits' safety and performance. They also don't get much time-off during the "cycle" (the 9-week period that basic lasts). At least when I was in, very few people actually volunteered to be DS - and those who did only did because it helps with promotions.

They're just regular people. Most of them aren't sadistic, although I think the ones who really, really resented getting stuck with DS duty may have taken it out on the recruits. That's not most of them, though. If anything, a lot of the "f-ing with the recruits" stuff they do is for each other's entertainment, because they're just as, if not more, sick of the Basic Training gig as the recruits - and unlike the recruits, they don't get to leave after 9 weeks.

Oh, and drill sergeant isn't like a permanent job, but a temporary - like 2-3 year - duty. I was at a non-combat arms basic training ("Relaxin' Jackson"), so we had all types. Our head drill sergeant was actually combat infantry, who got pulled from one of the Ranger Battalions to train us. That guy really did resent us, because to him, we were all "f***in POGues" (person other than grunt - non-infantry) - and he missed out on getting a combat jump into Iraq, so yeah. We were his first cycle, and I think he had an existential crisis about halfway through, because he just gave-up on us about halfway through the cycle. He didn't even pretend to care, he just smoked cigarettes and let the other drill sergeants handle us. But the other drill sergeants were from all over. MI, logistics, signals, whatever.

The other thing is, they're a lot, lot younger than we typically think of them. Most of the Drill Sergeants I had, and former Drill Sergeants I know, were probably mid-20s to early-30s. When you join at 17-19, that seems super old and grizzled, but if you think about it...28 is not old at all. The Army DOES age you fast, given how stressful it can be, but its not like the movies, where most of the guys look to be going on 50. So you're talking about super stressed-out people in their mid- to late-20s. I'm sure a lot of us can probably relate to that.

The in-your-face, swearing, "Dur, I bet your girl back home is doing X,Y, and Z with the football team!" DID happen to a limited extent, but it was mostly over within the first 72-hours to week. The DS' job is to train you, not make you kill yourself (this is a real concern), and they (and everyone else) can usually spot the people who won't make it pretty fast. From what I observed, after they identified someone who wasn't going to make it, they usually pulled that dude aside and had, what it looked like, a pretty honest discussion about "Man, why are you here? We should think about sending you home." Some people just weren't made for the Army. No point in running them into the ground over it, they just don't belong there.

The only time DSs would really get angry is if a soldier copped attitude. It's one thing to just be a sad sack, or dumb, or out of shape - the DS will ride you, but he won't mess you-up too bad. But if you talk smack to the DS, you're going to have a bad day.

The DSs get progressively nicer as the cycle goes on. They're never "nice," and you would never "smoke and joke" with them, but as you get closer to the end, they'll tell the occasional joke, or tell everyone stories about the "Real Army." It's all down hill from about the halfway point. Most of the guys who weren't meant to be soldiers have been weeded-out by that point, and the people who are still around know how to do the basic minimum required of a soldier - they shave, wake-up on time, are in decent shape, know how to follow orders, etc. - so the DS can focus more on training us, and they don't have to scream all the time.

From my perspective as a former recruit, basic training can be hard, but the DS is the least of your problems. Most of the recruits are like 17-19 years old, and its their first time away from home (same for me). A lot of dudes who volunteered for the Army brought their own set of issues, or were running away from responsibilities, so they were already plenty screwed before they showed up. And yeah, the DS is annoying, but it is also HOT (or cold, depending on the time of year), you're unwashed, you're always tired, the food sucks, there's no x-box or entertainment, there's no sex, no booze, no smoking, no outlet for your stress other than telling dumb jokes. And boy, are there dumb jokes. In that environment, all you have to keep you going to childish, gallows humor. The DS had that, too.

Things got so boring that, even as an atheist, I would volunteer to go to the various church services held on Sunday, both for the snacks, the variety, and to get out of cleaning the bay (the communal barracks we all slept in). Everyone shared notes. "Dude, don't go to Protestant, they don't give you anything." "Eastern Orthodox gives you a bunch of good cookies." "The rabbi at the Jewish service is super chill." That was the extent of our entertainment.

Anyway, hope that helps. If you have any questions, just ask.

[BreaktheStatue]

But can anybody give me some general-purpose tips for how to portray a drill sergeant who’s doing his job well? I’m going to run a game taking the characters through military training (granted, training very different from a modern soldier’s, but the drill sergeant is still an essential figure) and while I don’t honestly expect (or really want) to intimidate the players, I’d like to at least make a convincing facsimile of the experience for the characters.

As far as how they actually train, the key things are:

1. They usually speak very slowly, in very loud, and very clear voices. Speaking loudly and clearly is a must. And they don't have to "scream" to do it - I can't explain the mechanics, but I think it has something to do with the diaphragm. Anyone who has been in the military (or done choir, or public speaking), probably knows what I am talking about, but they project their voices very well.

2. They are very, very slow and deliberate in how they train. In the modern day Army, there is a by-the-book, standard way for training everything, and the Drill Sergeants have to train you to this standard. As in, if you screw up because they omitted something, they get in trouble, so they have to tell you EVERYTHING. They will usually call it, "Training by the numbers," but colloquially, it's known as "training Barney-style," "training to the lowest common denominator," or "r****d-proofing it." They will usually train you "by the numbers," at first, to show you how to do it, and then observe you while you copy them. So for something as simple as shooting a rifle, they might go, "Step 1: Grab the rifle with two hands. Step 2: Ensure the safety is on, and there are no rounds in the chamber...etc."

3. They will show you how to do everything. They constantly emphasize that they aren't "showing you anything that I can't do myself." I think it's meant to inspire confidence. In fact, a lot of their job is about inspiring confidence. They WANT you to succeed, both because most of them are decent people, and because it reflects better on them.

4. They don't use a lot of fancy words, because A) there are a lot of dumb kids in Basic, and B) there are a lot of people in Basic who do not speak English as a first language.

5. They're generally pretty patient with you, if you show some effort but just don't "get it," but they are merciless if you slack-off or are disrespectful.

[BreaktheStatue]

Sorry, one last response.

A key takeaway I want to leave you with is that: While the movies emphasize the "breaking you down and making you follow rules," part of Basic, that's only a small part of it. They also work to build you back-up. A large part - probably most of it - is geared towards building confidence in yourself, and encouraging you to take initiative. You run obstacle courses, do team-building, wrestle around - the drill sergeants straight-up tell you that you are better than civilians. It is actually a very, very empowering experience in a lot of ways, especially when you're young and unsure of yourself. If you ever run in to a kid fresh out of Basic, they always walk like they're 10-feet tall and bulletproof. That's good and bad, but Basic is definitely more than just, "Grrr, fall in line or I'll hit you!" They want you to be confident and capable, but able to operate within the confines of a hierarchy. They do not want you to just be cannon fodder, especially in an all-volunteer army where they invest a lot of time, effort, and money into training you.

It may have been different back when they had the draft, I don't know. That's something you'll want to consider - the nature of the army in your game, the urgency - how much the DS actually cares about his recruits surviving combat, how much time they have to crank-out troops, etc.

[FreddyNoNose]

boot camp is a head game. They need to weed certain people out who can't handle it mentally. True, you have to learn about the service and they do physical training which can weed others out but for the most part, the average person can make it through.

[DeTess]

@BreaktheStatue, can I just say that that was an awesome and informative set of posts? If this forum had likes I'd be giving all of them to you. As it is, you're going to have to make do with this small bit of praise.

[BreaktheStatue]

@BreaktheStatue, can I just say that that was an awesome and informative set of posts? If this forum had likes I'd be giving all of them to you. As it is, you're going to have to make do with this small bit of praise.

Thank you for the wonderful compliment.