Let me tell you about my Senior Drill Instructor.

Throw out your preconceptions; Staff Sergeant King was not R. Lee Ermey, he was not Jack Webb.

What he was was the eptiome of ‘Marine Corps SNCO’. He walked the walk.  He talked the talk. He led by example.

He was the most unusual SDI at MCRD. Platoon 3099 was a herd of non-marching diddy-boppers, going into third phase. This was clearly unacceptable and if we kept it up we’d embarrass ourselves.

How bad were we? At one point SSgt Q. called out a command. First and second squad heard ‘By the Left Flank .. March’.

Third and Fourth squad heard ‘Column Half-Right . . March’

So .. ya. The platoon is rapidly marching away from itself. In front of a brace of Captains and a clutch of Majors and Colonels.  I was in First squad and had a perfect view of SSgt Q’s face. I thought his smokey-the-bear hat was going to pop off from the pressure.

We were pretty bad.

SSgt King brought a metronome in and installed it by the DI Hut, had it on 24×7.  Soon we’re all marching around in time in the barracks. My dreams were in time with a steady ‘click-click-click’.  He borrowed a bass drum from the band and had a pair recruits from the sick, lame and lazy section out beating on it while we drilled.

But they could not carry it around (sick, lame and lazy) so they stood in one place, beating away while we marched around them.

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM …. BOOM …. BOOM

“FASTER!”

BOOM.BOOM.BOOM .. BOOM .. BOOM

“SLOWER!”

BOOM. BOOM. BOOM .. BOOM .. BOOM

“JUST LIKE THAT!”

I don’t have a lot of fond memories of boot camp – it’s not summer camp – but that scene is one of them. Thanks, SSgt King.

Cross posted to Space For Commerce.