Mainly for Drill Instructors, but anyone, feel free to respond

[florczak2287]

What do Drill Instructors look for in a platoon guide? How far is it into recruit training when guides, squad leaders, and the such are selected?

[Zulu 36]

What do Drill Instructors look for in a platoon guide? How far is it into recruit training when guides, squad leaders, and the such are selected?
A guide and squad leaders are appointed right after your DIs pickup your platoon. Usually they are looking for the older, more mature recruit to start. If your IST is low and/or you are a bit of a fatbody, forget it.

The initial appointments rarely keep their positions all of the way through as they will screw up, or the DIs just want to try someone else out and see if they are better.

Also a scribe and a house mouse will be appointed as well. They do not necessarily keep their jobs all of the way through either.

In my platoon, the guide and one of the squad leaders kept being rotated in and out of those jobs. The initial scribe was fired during 1st Phase for being an "educated idiot." I was a squad leader at the time, got fired from that job to be made scribe, which I managed to hold until graduation.

One squad leader was an initial appointment and he kept the job all of the way through. But he had been in the Army previously and had his stuff wrapped pretty tight.

[davblay]

The DIs may look at height, ROTC/JROTC back ground, or any numerous traits to choose the first Guide and squad leaders. There is no set method--per say! As the SGT posted above, they are seldom kept for the job through out training as they are fired and new ones are hired as the SDI sees fit!

FYI---this subject has been covered, in detail, several times in the past on this site. I suggest that you try the search engine and read those threads also.

[florczak2287]

Thanks. I guess I owe you guy's for wasting your time and not looking a little harder earlier.

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