The Senior

The Senior Drill Instructor is like your dad.  There to instruct, correct, reproof, and ultimately discipline you if needed.  Senior Drill Instructors hold a respected position.  They are set apart from the other Drill Instructors by the wearing of a black sword belt instead of a green duty belt.  A Senior Drill Instructor is ultimately accountable for the training of the platoon and for the efficiency of his assistant Drill Instructors.

I remember my Senior vividly.  A machine gunner by MOS, SSgt 'K' was a massively built man.  His forearms and biceps would rival any Olympiad.  He had to have custom made 'Charlie' Shirts so they wouldn't rip when he flexed and moved.  As a platoon, we thought we could taken any other platoon, as long as the Senior was out front.  (Of course, as Marine recruits, you think you can do anything anyway).

The Senior wasn't as explosive as the "Heavy," but you didn't want to piss him off.  I remember a couple of key moments in boot camp where the Senior lost his mind.  One instance he had us in the pit, for what offense I cannot recall.  Lucky for us, in 3rd phase, the pit was right outside our barracks.  We were "making it rain," while standing on the 3rd deck catwalk, SSgt 'K' was yelling out commands, "Back, belly, back, belly, back, belly!"  If you don't have the mental picture yet we rolled in the sand from our backs to our fronts.  Needless to say we were covered.

One other time, we were drilling.  Again, I don't know who or what happened (the benefits of being short and in the back of the platoon), but the Senior stopped us, threw his sword, slammed his cover on the parade deck, jumped up and down a couple times, shook his hands at us, called us "Stupid mother*******", picked up his trash and walked off.  As we watched him walk off between a set of barracks, I thought to myself, "We are going to die."  Then I noticed the Heavy.  Arms crossed, back was to us, watching the Senior leave, rocking back and forth, heel to toe.  He turned his head and said with a sinister voice, "Good!  You pissed off daddy, now you're mine!"  When the Senior disappeared, we were double-timed to the pit for one of the worst thrashings we ever had.

The Senior was something else.  I do have numerous other accounts, but for brevity, left them out. 

What memories do you have of your Senior Drill Instructor?