The drill sergeants are not allowed to hit you.
The military's drill sergeants and instructors are prohibited from hitting their recruits.
Initiating a fight with your instructor will get you jailed and court-martialed.
Drill Instructors/Drill Sergeants don't physically touch recruits. They don't hit or physically assault recruits, ever. They come close, but they never physically hurt or even touch recruits.
First and foremost, drill instructors, Marine combat instructors, drill sergeants, military training instructors, and recruit division commanders are highly disciplined and trained to never initiate a physical altercation.
It is a requirement to salute all Officers of the Armed Forces (Air Force, Navy, Marines, etc) and Officers of allied nations when you recognize their rank. A salute will not be rendered for Noncommissioned Officers.
In 2020, the Army got rid of the so-called "shark attack." During the purposefully chaotic reception of new trainees, drill sergeants would swarm them, scream and inflict physical pain by ordering them to perform rigorous tasks such as holding heavy bags over their heads for hours.
The 'frog voice' is real.
Drill instructors literally scream so hard at recruits that they can pass out, give themselves hernias, or do serious and permanent damage to their vocal chords. That's why they spend a lot of time at DI school learning to project from their diaphragms.
They are the third most senior Warrant Officers within a regimental structure, after the RSM and the Regimental Quartermaster Sergeant (RQMS). The HAC Drill Sergeant is thus the second most senior Army Reserve soldier in the regiment.
Browne, a drill sergeant at Fort Leonard Wood Mo., said one such misconception is that all a drill sergeant does is yell. What they need to understand is that yelling is an attention getter," Browne said. "You can't yell at everyone. You have to use, as my (noncommissioned officers) used to tell me...
18 U.S. Code § 1389 - Prohibition on attacks on United States servicemen on account of service. in the case of a battery, or an assault resulting in bodily injury, be fined under this title in an amount not less than $2500 and imprisoned not less than 6 months nor more than 10 years.
The rules for guard members missing drill and what can be done about it vary from state to state. In practice, punishments for missing a part or all of a weekend drill range from nothing, to not being paid, to having to make up the drill, and in some rare instances arrest and punishment.
One drill weekend is comprised of four 4-hour UTAs. If one drill weekend is missed, four UTAs have been missed. Missing eight UTAs within one year is considered sufficient indication of intentional misconduct and meets justification for reduction in rank or discharge.
As of Dec 16, 2022, the average annual pay for a Drill Sergeant in the United States is $45,096 a year.
Maximum Punishment
Assault consummated by a battery: Bad conduct discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 6 months. Assault upon a commissioned, warrant, noncommissioned, or petty officer: Dishonorable discharge, forfeiture of all pay and allowances, and confinement for 18 months.
Basically, smoke sessions are not authorized as they are a form of punishment. With that stated leaders can use a reasonable number of physical exercises as corrective training if authorized by the commander (See FM 7-22 extract below).
Drill instructors are referred to as "sir" or "ma'am" by recruits within the USAF, USMC, and USCG (for the first few weeks of basic training, until recruits are instructed to refer to their company commanders by their proper rank).
Drill Sergeant Age Breakdown
Interestingly enough, the average age of drill sergeants is 40+ years old, which represents 81% of the population.
Drill Instructors in America make an average salary of $53,231 per year or $26 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $86,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $32,000 per year.
How many hours of sleep do drill instructors get? Results: Drill sergeants reported working long hours (M = 14.74 hours, SD = 2.53), and being at work 6.42 (SD = 0.6) days per week, while obtaining low levels of sleep (75% reported five hours or less per night).
Other changes include a raise for some drill sergeants, who can move up from the baseline $300 extra a month to $375 "based upon service as a drill sergeant, completion of a certification program and approval by their battalion commander," Taylor said.
Drill Instructors DO Read the Message Boards
Your recruit does not want his or her Drill Instructor to read his or her private thoughts from the letters he or she send.
Sergeants could fight either as heavy cavalry, light cavalry, or as trained professional infantry; either spearmen or crossbowmen.
For many female Soldiers, their first, and often most memorable, role model is a drill sergeant. With the first female drill sergeants graduating in 1972, we are nearing a momentous anniversary; come February 2021, female drill sergeants will hit their own milestone- 50 years of service.