Most can recognize the integral role drill instructors play in the lives of Marine Corps recruits once their feet hit the yellow footprints aboard Marine Corps Recruit Depots (MCRD) Parris Island, South Carolina and San Diego, California.

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As the drill instructors wait to welcome the approximately 90 recruits for a 13-week crucible of rigorous physical and mental basic training, these eager, often fearful souls are reminded of the blood, sweat and tears shed by the millions of Marines who walked the ground before them.

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Training recruits as a drill instructor at one of the Marine recruit depots is an unforgettable experience, but it is also the first step toward becoming a sergeant instructor, the title given to those who take on the important responsibility of training and evaluating officer candidates in Officer Candidates School (OCS) aboard Marine Corps Base Quantico (MCBQ), Virginia. The chance to become a sergeant instructor is only achieved after going to Drill Instructors School, located at one of the MCRDs, serving a successful three-year tour as a drill instructor and going back to their unit after being a drill instructor and working for two years in their primary Military Occupational Specialty (MOS). Only then can a drill instructor voluntarily apply for an Assistant Marine Officer Instructor (AMOI) billet, which makes them a candidate to become a sergeant instructor at OCS.

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According to Gunnery Sgt. Jeremy Bland, drillmaster at OCS aboard MCBQ, sergeant instructors are entrusted with the responsibility of taking care of officer candidates to the best of their ability—similar to that of a parent.

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A sergeant instructor’s job is very different from that of a drill instructor. Their main mission is to assist the platoon commander in training, evaluating and screening all candidates within their platoons. Sergeant instructors conduct a continuous, close, personal observation of each candidate in their platoon. They ensure candidates abide by all provisions of the candidate regulations and maintain high standards of discipline, personal appearance, and military courtesy. They are entrusted with taking care of the candidates and ensuring that training is conducted in a safe manner.

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Sergeant instructors also serve as role models for officer candidates. The candidates chosen to attend OCS are expected to already possess the commitment, character, physical and mental courage, teamwork, unselfishness and resilience that are expected of a Marine Corps officer and the sergeant instructors help develop those traits further during OCS. The training requires coaching, mentoring and educating officer candidates to make the right choices when faced with difficult decisions. In addition, sergeant instructors teach and reinforce basic Marine Corps knowledge.

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“It’s an honor to have earned the privilege of training America’s youth and instilling our core values into their character,” Bland said. “We take civilians from all walks of life and develop them into basically trained Marines, thus giving them the tools to succeed and make the right decisions in difficult situations. It’s about leading, teaching and mentoring the next generation of Marines, demanding of them and demonstrating by our own example if we want them to accept our culture and love our Corps.”

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Sergeant instructors are there from the time a candidate wakes up and they stay with them until they put them in the rack at night, doing everything from instructing, mentoring and creating stress on the candidate throughout the day, according to Bland.

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“This is an important role because they are the first staff noncommissioned officers that most of the candidates see and they set the standard for the staff noncommissioned officer,” Bland said.

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Duty as a sergeant instructor is not for the faint of heart. Often, sergeant instructors work 18 hour days, starting duties before candidates are even out of bed and working well beyond when the candidates hit the rack in the evening. Sergeant instructors participate in all physical training with the candidates and, while candidates are receiving formal instruction in classes, sergeant instructors often go to the gym for more physical training. Sergeant instructors correct the deficiencies they see in candidates through verbal reprimand and essays. They also teach and supervise the conduct of individual weapons handling; more than 65 hours of drill throughout each cycle; and physical training techniques. All of this work is worth it to the instructors when they see the candidates graduate from OCS.

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According to Gunnery Sgt. Tamara Moody, sergeant instructor aboard Quantico, instructors are like second parents to the Marines going through training and for some, they are the only role models they have ever had.

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Moody has been in the Marine Corps for 15 years and has trained more than 3,000 recruits and candidates throughout her tenure.

Although she has five years left in the Corps she will never forget the impact she was able to have on the young Marines she has trained.

“We all have our challenges, our fights, those things we must overcome, but we cannot quit in the face of struggle or we will always quit,” Moody said. “This is the mentality we show our recruits and officer candidates—the mentality of pride and perseverance.”

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Bland believes that anyone thinking about becoming a Marine or Marine officer should know that drill instructors and sergeant instructors actually care about their trainees’ well-being, although it may not seem like it the character they build after the completion of their training will bring the realization of the men and women who formed them into United States Marines.

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According to Moody it is easy for candidates to forget that their sergeant instructors once stood in their shoes—some multiple times.

“Instructors either volunteer or are selected to take on this Military Occupational Specialty, because they believe they are the top 10 percent of Marines,” Moody said. “We were pushed to our limit so that we, in turn, can push the Corps’ future recruits and candidates to their limit.”