FRANKFORT, Ky. –
Four drill sergeants from Kentucky’s Recruit Sustainment Program (RSP) augmented active component drill sergeants from the U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC) at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, July 21-Aug. 4, 2024.
Drill Sergeants Clayton Robinson, Brandon Ferguson, Celia Murphy, and Caelin Taylor spent their annual training time partnering with TRADOC’s 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment at Fort Jackson to experience firsthand the planning and training that goes on behind the scenes for drill sergeants to help new recruits transition successfully from civilians to Soldiers.
RSP drills each month to train newly enlisted Kentucky Army National Guard (KYARNG) Soldiers prior to shipping for initial entry training (IET). Cadre use this training time to set new Soldiers up for success when they get to basic combat training (BCT) – teaching them everything from how to wear the uniform, military customs and courtesies, and basic Soldier skills.
“I learned a lot about the training and planning process for which a drill sergeant is responsible, and how to better implement that to my own leadership styles at RSP,” said Taylor, a drill sergeant assigned to Recruiting and Retention’s Bravo Company, Detachment 2 in Burlington, Kentucky. “It was the best experience of actively forming the foundation of the trainee’s career. Watching them transition from civilians to Soldiers was the most rewarding part of my experience.”
Recruiters not only recruit during the week in high schools and universities but also serve as a liaison to their assigned unit to provide more targeted recruiting and retention support for each military occupational specialty. The additional demands of RSP presented a need to identify and develop non-commissioned officers from other major support commands across the state to serve as RSP cadre to enable recruiters to fulfill their responsibilities for units across the state.
U.S. Army Sgt. Maj. Steven Callison, operations sergeant major for Kentucky’s Recruiting and Retention Battalion, developed an agreement with the 4th Battalion, 39th Infantry Regiment at Fort Jackson to use Soldiers’ annual training days to facilitate the training experience for the drill sergeants to give them exposure to the BCT environment and to develop their skill sets to train new Soldiers to succeed in IET.
Serving as part of the RSP cadre is a broadening opportunity that gives NCOs the chance to work with the KYARNG’s newest Soldiers while freeing recruiters up to spend time with their units. Recruiters can then develop relationships with Soldiers and command teams, and develop and implement more intentional strategies to recruit and retain Soldiers in each MOS.
“It provides a broadening opportunity for good NCOs in the units allowing us to stretch recruiters further,” said U.S. Army Maj. T.J. Miller, executive officer for the recruiting battalion. “Employing non-recruiters in an RSP role enables recruiters to recruit.”