Drill Sergeants
To be eligible to enter the Drill Sergeant Program, all noncommissioned officers must meet the prerequisites outlined
in AR
614-200, Enlisted Assignment and Utilization Management, Chapter 8, section 8-13.
When selecting soldiers for drill sergeant (DS) assignments, those soldiers who are serving in a table of organization
and equipment (TO&E) environment are given first priority, provided they meet the prerequisites established
in AR 614-200, Chapter 8.
The PERSCOM conducts a thorough background screening for unfavorable information. Soldiers with Type I reports
of unfavorable information disqualifiers will be excluded from DS Duty permanently. Soldiers with Type II reports
of unfavorable information disqualifiers will be excluded for consideration for DS Duty for five years from the
date of the incident. Listed below are the Type I and Type II reports of unfavorable information disqualifiers:
Type I reports of unfavorable information disqualifiers - which cause automatic rejection - are any records of
unfavorable information during the soldier’s career involving moral turpitude of the following nature:
Sexual harassment; assault of a subordinate, spouse, child; rape; or indecent acts with minors.
Incest, beastiality, homosexual activities, adultery, sexual activity with subordinate soldiers, or fraternization.
Conduct in violation of the Army’s policy on participation in extremist organizations or activities.
Any court-martial conviction in the soldier’s career, provided it has not been reversed by a higher court or other
appropriate authority.
Any repeat offenders (or combination) of Type II offenses any time during their careers.
Type II reports of unfavorable information disqualifiers - time related - are any record of unfavorable information
listed below committed within five years of DS consideration:
Driving under the influence (DUI).
Assault (other than subordinate, spouse, or child).
Any drug offense.
Larceny/theft.
A traffic violation with six points or more assessed.
Any record of unfavorable information other than the above in the past three years.
There are currently three DS schools (Ft. Benning, Ft. Jackson, and Ft. Leonard Wood). Female training is conducted
at all schools.
The minimum DS tour is two years with an option to extend up to a maximum of 36 months. Installation/Training and
Doctrine Command (TRADOC) commanders may approve third year DS extensions for soldiers between their 12th and 14th
month on DS status. All other extension requests will be forwarded to PERSCOM (TAPC-EPK-ID) for final determination.
Career branches will issue assignment instructions upon completion of the soldier's DS tour. Since DS duty is categorized
as a table of distribution and allowance (TDA) assignment, career branches will usually assign terminating DSs
to a TO&E position whenever possible.
Reassignment after a tour of DS duty outside of primary MOS/career progression MOS is prohibited.
Drill sergeants are not assigned to a short tour (dependent restricted) overseas area immediately following tour
completion unless they volunteer for such assignment. All DSs will submit a DA Form 4187 giving three assignment
areas of preference. Career branches will either grant one of the soldier’s three assignment choices, defer the
choices until the soldier PCS from the installation if strengths don’t support the soldier departing at that time,
or negotiate with the soldier for alternate locations. Soldiers must ask for locations where their MOS/Grade is
authorized. Actual reassignment date is subject to current PCS criteria.
Information Courtesy of U.S. Army
