MARINE CORPS RECRUIT DEPOT SAN DIEGO, Calif. -- The job of a drill instructor does not consist of a lot of smiling and shaking hands. Drill instructors are trained to be able to maintain an intimidating and unfriendly persona.
For Sgt. Jerry L. Wright Jr., drill instructor, Platoon 2111, Co. F, becoming a drill instructor meant doing almost the exact opposite of what he was originally trained to do. He spent the first five years of his Marine Corps career as a combat correspondent. Trained to be a public affairs representative, he did a lot of smiling and shaking hands in his job.
"I spent almost my first five years in the Marine Corps smiling and being friendly to people, showing the positive aspects of the Marine Corps," said Wright. "Then I came to the drill field, and it's like Dr. Jeckyll and Mr. Hyde. Now my job is to put people in the most uncomfortable situations."
Wright joined the Marine Corps Dec. 12, 1995. He graduated from recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island, as the company honor man. It was there he decided he wanted to be a drill instructor.
"The influence my drill instructors had and the example they set made me want to be a drill instructor from the moment I graduated boot camp," said the 25 year old.
After recruit training and Marine Combat Training, Wright attended the Defense Information School, Fort George G. Meade, Md. There, he graduated from the Basic Journalist Course and the Basic Broadcaster Course, learning how to write news, sports, and feature stories for both print and broadcast journalism. He also learned public affairs, the portion of his job that deals with community and media relations.
From DINFOS, Wright received orders to the MCRD San Diego public affairs office. He spent two years here holding several billets including staff writer for the Chevron, community relations representative, and media relations representative.
"As a public affairs Marine he was a real nice guy," said Staff Sgt. Nicholas P. McLaren, public affairs chief, MCRD San Diego. "Part of his job was taking people on tours of the Depot, and he was always very personable with them during the tours. He took pride in everything he knew, and he incorporated the fact that he wanted to be a drill instructor into his tours."
Wright's job in public affairs gave him the opportunity to talk to many drill instructors about drill instructor duty.
"A lot of the drill instructors I came in contact with were new to the drill field," said Wright. "Some of them painted a less than glamorous picture of drill instructor duty, but my reaction was that I wanted to see for myself."
Eventually, Wright would see for himself. He left the Depot after two years for Japan. There, he reenlisted under the condition that when he finished his tour in Japan he would be sent back to MCRD San Diego to become a drill instructor.
After one year working for Armed Forces Network, Iwakuni, Japan, as a broadcaster, Wright returned to MCRD San Diego. He spent another year working in the Depot public affairs office in the community relations section before attending the Drill Instructor School here.
Wright graduated from Drill Instructor School March 26, 2001, and he has been training recruits since then. He said he is glad he chose to see for himself what it means to be a drill instructor.
"When you actually start working as a drill instructor, you see how challenging the job really is, and you get to challenge yourself to overcome it. I enjoy that," Wright said.
Wright met the challenge of being drill instructor early. He was recognized as the best new drill instructor in 2nd Recruit Training Battalion earning the Dan Daly award.
"He's a wild man," said Staff Sgt. Jeffrey C. Marston, series gunnery sergeant, series 2109, Co. F.
"He is incredibly intense. You can see he always holds his recruits to the highest standards," he added.
Wright has trained five cycles of recruits, including one honor platoon, during his time on the drill field.
Currently, Wright is a "J," the drill instructor responsible for teaching most of the drill movements to a platoon.
"He's the kind of drill instructor that I knew he would be," said McLaren. "He's high energy all the time. If you see him out there drilling, you know he's really into it."
Wright has been married for six years and he said his favorite things to do when he gets away from the drill field is spend time with his family.
"I love to spend time with my family. I like to go out with my son and ride his skateboard while he rides his bike," said the family-man. "I love going with my son to school and seeing what he's doing."
Wright also said he thinks drill instructor duty, although burdensome on the family at times, is helping to make him a better father in the long run.
"I think working with recruits has given me good insight into how young people think, and I think it is making me a better father," said the Prince George County, Md., native.
Wright was recently selected to be promoted to staff sergeant and he said his experience as a drill instructor has also changed how he will do his job as a combat correspondent when he leaves the drill field.
"When I go back out to do my job, I think I'll do it differently," Wright said. "As a staff noncommissioned officer, I hope I'll be able to influence the Marines in my job field and make them better Marines. I've learned a lot about how to positively motivate individuals."
Wright said he has worked hard to be a good drill instructor and he hopes his recruits will always remember him in a positive light just like he will never forget his drill instructors.
"It's not about the honor platoons or the Dan Daly Award or the ribbon I get when I'm done with this tour," Wright said.
"As long as I can touch one of these recruits and make him a better man, then I'll leave the drill field knowing that I did my job," he said.