Drill sergeants

Any current or past drill sergeants that are masons that were on the trail? I was suppose to go to Afghanistan in June but orders came out of no where sending me to drill sergeant school. My chain of command was furious lol. But any way my main question is while on the trail did you still have opportunities to go to lodge or participate in any of your Masonic activities?

I spent three years on the trail at Fort Benning. I was not a mason at the time, but I did not have much time to do anything. Of course I was on the trail about 5 years ago also. The amount of time you have will depend on your unit and how many other Drill Sergeants are in your company or platoon. When I began on the trail we only had two Drill Sergeants per platoon in my company when I left we had four or five per platoon. The more Drill Sergeants you have the more time off you will get. I also understand that the mission has changed and that basic training has changed somewhat in how things are ran. Basically you will have to wait and see. Remember each post and unit is different.
Good luck on the trail, it is a very difficult job often filled with long hours. You will see stuff that will blow your mind. You will learn a lot in that job and you will finally understand why so many CSM's and 1SG's are former Drill Sergeants. Being a Drill Sergeant prepares you for those jobs.

I'm going to be stationed at fort Jackson.

Brother Nick,
I noticed the quotes at the bottom of your post. Is Jimmy Buffet a MM?
Robert

robert leachman said:

Brother Nick,
I noticed the quotes at the bottom of your post. Is Jimmy Buffet a MM?
Robert

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I'm pretty sure that jimmy Buffett is not a Mason. I have just always thought that quote applied to me, even before I became a Mason

Thanks

I once did a contract in Africa. My supervisor was a former Marine Corps drill instructor, Camp Pendleton. He was the finest man I ever met, I considered it a privilege to work for him. If he told me to walk barefoot on hot coals, I would have done it! I am certain, that his experience as a DI, made him a fine supervisor.

i have a buddy whome is a drill right now and he has time to go and do things it all depends on how many other drills there are and if you are on red white or blue portion of the cycle, but you will have time to go to the lodge i assure you this and have fun in relaxin jackson!

Thanks. And believe me I plan on having lots of fun there. It's and hour from where I grew up so I'll be close to family. And all though the trail isn't a walk in the park, it's a much deserved and needed break/vacation from deployment rotations. The orders couldn't have come at a better time either, I was suppose to deploy in June ^_^

yeah thats the good thing not deploying im on the other side of the house they got me recruiting right now and i would in a second go back to a deploying unit because at least when im not deployed i get to see my fam more recruiting is alot of hours

Bro Colt, I was a drill sergeant at Ft leonardwood for three years 94-97, as Bro Nick mentioned you will not have time to attend lodge on a regular basis. I usually went to work at anywhere between 0300-0400hrs daily and didn't leave until 2100-2200hrs depending on the phase that they were in. You may be able to attend meeting during cycle breaks if you have them.

I was at Jackson my last three years prior to my retirement (2005), I didn't much care for the installation myself, (big city) Be very careful about what you do as a Drill, Jackson was the least tolerant of the three installations.

Good luck, Drill duty can be rewarding for the most part but it can burn you out, most drills find themselves in trouble within the last six months of trail time left, I am sure you don't want to be in the funny papers (o:

Steve Courtemanche

I think that it will all depend on where you get stationed at. I got out of the Army in 2009 and never did go Drill Sergeant, but I do have a few buddies that were also Masons that were at Fort Knox, KY and Drill Sergeants. They had plenty of time to go to Lodge, but it all just depeneded on how active they wanted to be and what phase of the cycle they were in.

I can also tell you this, when I was up at Knox doing my Scout training, there seemed to be a very big Masonic population when it came to the cadre and Drill Sergeants. A buddy of mine and I (both Privates) were actually talking about our home lodges and some of the Instructor cadre from the grenade range heard us. They pulled us out from the rest of the class and took us to the wood line and "tested" us...lol Turns out that all of the Instructors there at the range that day were Masons. It was really funny. They took chalk and put some sort of marking on our ACH so that all the other Instructors that weren't with us in the woodline would know who we were..hahha

Sorry, I had to share that story as this just totally reminded me of it...lol That was one my proudest moments as a Mason. Anyway, also walking around the base you could tell there were a lot of Masons because of the regalia. I mean, you see it a lot in the Army anyhow, but up there it just seemed like it was all over the place for such a small base and area.

Good luck with everything and hope you have fun on the trail!!!

Neat story brother Stedman, thanks for sharing.

I went through Ft. Benning back in the 90's. My drill sergeants were among the most capable men I've ever met in my life. Later I was driver and then gunner on a Bradley with an ex-drill Sgt from Benning, something like a year. I had flat feet, so didn't make a long haul of it, but if I've one regret about not reupping its the missed opportunity to go that route.

Tough gig though. In our first day of live rounds at BRM a fella inverted his M16 and blew a hole in his shoulder, couple foxholes away from me. Chopper came and all that. I'd imagine finding a lodge would be a pretty high priority in your boots too, Brother, its prolly going to be tough at times. And you'll have to be tough, they will need it for whats facing them.

Good luck and thanks for your service.

I'd think, btw, Ft. Jackson would be a notch down from the pace at Sand Hill - but I don't know that. Infantry down at Benning.

I know im so late to this post but for what its worth i was on the trail at fort jackson for three years while on active duty and then another 3 while in the reserves. during my nine weeks of DSS I still had time to make lodge meetingd due to getting out of training at aroud 7pm and having most weekends off if not in the field for ftx. I also foung time to attend meetings and such during the week that is if i did not pull staff duty nco or some crazy private trying to commit suicide int he barracks. so yes there is time to attend lodge while on the trail, but then again it depends on what training post you are on, I was at jackson training future cooks, pencil pushers and quatermasters, im sure stations like benning, knox and bragg are a little more time consuming..

Colt.barker said:

Any current or past drill sergeants that are masons that were on the trail? I was suppose to go to Afghanistan in June but orders came out of no where sending me to drill sergeant school. My chain of command was furious lol. But any way my main question is while on the trail did you still have opportunities to go to lodge or participate in any of your Masonic activities?

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Thats great to hear, i just moved to fort jackson, and i start my Drill duty on Monday. What unit were you in and how long ago was that?

colt.barker, I was assigned to D-128 aka Black Lions while on AD, and I was assigned to the echo mission as a reserve drill back in 2007

@colt.barker, welcome to south carolina and fort jackson, remember "Victory Starts Here" Im checking on recognition at the moment, maybe if all is well youll be able to visit my lodge, if not maybe ill just treat you to lunch.