![]() ![]() New Soldiers will remember their drill sergeants forever, he said. I’m taking civilians and turning them into the next generation of warfighters.” “It’s the greatest responsibility someone could give. “ responsible for our nation’s sons and daughters,” he said, adding it’s a duty that demands excellence and that he doesn’t take lightly. 5, 2020, after winning at the installation level. Rostamo, a drill sergeant at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., was named the Army's 2020 Drill Sergeant of the Year Aug. Erik Rostamo completes the Army Combat Fitness Test. At, our chain of command does their best to accommodate time off for drill sergeants, because the families suffer” due to the long hours.īut the drill sergeants understand their mission, too. She is the backbone of our family,” Rostamo said. She gives him unconditional support, as well as takes on more than her share of family administrative duties, he said. Without Nicole, none of it would be possible. The days are long, the drill sergeant said, and the hours are taxing for the entire family. “Being on drill orders can be harder than being deployed because even though you’re physically home, it’s only for a few hours. Ryan Rostamo, an Army recruiter in Buffalo, Minnesota. “I’ve never heard him complain,” said his brother, Staff Sgt. A few hours later, while the girls are still in bed, he wakes to start another day. His wife of two years, Nicole - who is expecting their second child in September - and their daughter, Mikayla, are usually asleep. It’s a small, yet symbolic way to balance work and family, he said - even on nights when work tips the scale.īy the time he gets home, it’s typically in the late-evening hours. At the end of each 16-hour workday, once his truck pulls into the driveway, his hat, along with his drill sergeant persona, stays outside. The Rostamo family has an unwritten policy. Make no mistake - no matter how cool, calm, and collected as he is, there’s still time for discipline, he said, just like “there’s a time to turn it off and on.” Since graduating from the Army Drill Sergeant Academy at Fort Jackson, South Carolina in October 2018, he’s been the gatekeeper for roughly 600 new troops on their way into the Army, something he said has been “the greatest job in the world.” It was a huge change, but it quickly became his calling. At first, he was iffy about the job, he said. Shortly after, the seasoned police officer was tapped to take on a new role - drill sergeant. ![]() Then in 2012, he did route clearance and convoy security in Afghanistan. In 2009, he was part of Operation Iraqi Freedom at Camp Taji, Iraq, where he did internment and resettlement operations. As a military police officer, he’s deployed twice. The Minnesota native started his enlisted career to serve his country. They coach, counsel, and mentor recruits during some of the most physically and mentally points of their military careers.įor him, there is nothing more rewarding than modeling Army professionals. “That’s just not how trainees learn.”Įvery non-commissioned officer “under the hat” actually wears multiple ones, figuratively, he said. All the bluster and bravado in the movies could never mold civilians into highly-skilled warriors. But being a drill sergeant goes beyond the hotheaded characters played on camera, he said. If Hollywood was looking to cast a drill sergeant - he’s their guy. Still, it’s not hard to picture Rostamo wildly shouting at hundreds of recruits as they scurry off a bus into their first formation, or methodically moving through their ranks with an icy guise, his fiery eyes shadowed by the brim of his brown round hat. Erik Rostamo, the award means more than terrifying trainees or roaring the loudest it’s about turning America’s youth into a skilled combat-ready force. At a glance, this year’s drill sergeant of the year seems tailor-made for the part, down to the classic squared-jaw, stony-eyed glare capable of striking fear into young recruits.īut to Staff Sgt. (Photo Credit: Courtesy photo) VIEW ORIGINALįORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. Erik Rostamo, a drill sergeant at Fort Leonard Wood, Mo., was named the Army's 2020 Drill Sergeant of the Year Aug. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |