3rd-year drill provides laid back mentorship

By Shane Ersland

Staff Writer

In his third year of drill sergeant duty at the Leader’s Training Course, Sgt. First class Steven Boer said the Army has gradually had its drill sergeants ease up on the yelling, and some Cadets are surprised.

Delta Co. Sgt. 1st Class Steven Boer poses for a portrait in front of the ordnance corps branch insignia. Photo by Kristin Sherrard

 “They often ask us why we aren’t harder, stricter, or yelling at them more, like they see them do on T.V.,” Boer said.

Boer said that last year his role as a drill sergeant was more laid back than the previous year, and this year his job is similar to that of a mentor.

The difference in training is supposed to be more Cadet-friendly, and if a Cadet is having disciplinary problems, the drill sergeants usually schedule one-on-one counseling sessions with the individual.

Cadet Jared Hendler, from Co. D 1/46th Inf., who trains under Boer, said Army leaders have realized that there are more effective ways of punishing Cadets who may be out of line.

“I think they understand that personal time is more valuable to us here,” said Hendler, who attends the University of St. Thomas in Minnesota. “We’d be more willing to change our ways if they take things away from us, rather than just yelling.”

Boer, who is an Army mechanic, is familiar with older military training techniques. He has served for nearly 16 years, and he comes from a military family. He said his Grandfather was a Sherman crew member who single-handedly helped an American Soldier escape from a POW camp, and his Uncle was a Navy SEAL.

Boer has done two tours in Iraq, and in December he will be going to Fort Carson in Colorado for training to prepare him to go to Afghanistan.

“I’m stoked,” said the Army Ordinance Corps member. “I’ve seen Iraq, and now it’s time to go to the other part of the world.”