There are many routes to become an officer in the U.S. Army (which I am familiar with), and all them require that an officer candidate complete some type of pre-commissioning basic training or basic camp/advanced camp prior to be commissioning.
That being said, not all officers, especially those who have come up through the more traditional commissioning routes, like USMA or ROTC, have attend enlisted basic training where there are “drill sergeants”.
However, ALL officers who were commissioned through OCS (Officer’s Candidate School) have attended enlisted basic training, and SOME ROTC commissioned officers have as well.
Indeed, a growing number of ROTC and some USMA graduates have prior service as enlisted members and NCO’s. These individuals, continue to represent an increasingly growing proportion of young officers today, especially among junior officer ranks (2LT-Cpt). These highly skilled and valuable officers, are called “Mustangs” to denote their prior service as enlisted members or NCOs.
All pre-commissioning, officer-candidate training involves contact with both NCOs and officers. Enlisted basic training, or what is called “boot camp” by Marines, on the other hand is exclusively run by “drill sergeants” or “drill instructors”, both in the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps, respectively.
Pre-commissioning officer’s basic training, for example at ROTC Basic & Advanced Camp, and West Point’s Camp Buckner are run predominately run by junior officers (called Tactical Officers, or “TACS”), and senior NCOs. However, these individuals would not be referred to by the officer trainees/cadets as “drill sergeants”. “Drill Sergeant” is a title exclusively used in U.S. Army enlisted basic training, which U.S. Army OCS candidates are required to attend, and many Army ROTC graduates have attended, although it is not required for Army ROTC.
To give you an idea of the basic pre-commissioning training requirements, here’s a list of the programs currently available for officer commissionining in the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps.:
I. USMA at West Point: Plebes attend a 6-8 week “basic camp” at Camp Buckner on the West Point campus in upstate New York during their “plebe summer” i.e., the summer before starting their plebe (freshman year). Instructors are tactical officers and NCO’s from FORSCOM units (typically 101st or 82nd Airborne);
II.ROTC: Several ways to get into this program. One is by taking four years worth of military science classes (MS1-MS4) from Freshman to Senior year on campus during college, and attend a six week “Advanced Camp” in the summer between junior and senior year at Fort Lewis in Washington State.
Enlisted members and NCO’s in the reserves and national guard who are full-time college students can join the ROTC unit at their campus as an “SMP” (Simultaneous Membership Program) member, which means they receive a waiver for the first two years of ROTC instruction (MS1-MS2), continue serving in their reserve or national guard unit as an E-5 cadet, complete MS3-MS4 years on campus, with only the six week Advanced Camp requirement at Fort Lewis to fulfill before they can be commissioned upon graduating from college.
Also, college sophomores who want to join ROTC, or those who have two years to graduation, can join ROTC as an “MS3” in their Junior Year by completing a six-week ROTC “Basic Camp” at Ft. Knox the summer before their junior year. This camp is run by TACs and senior NCOs as well, although most of the contact is with drill sergeants.
III.OCS (Officer’s Candidate School) at Fort Benning, GA is for college graduates of four-year accredited universities who want to become active-duty Army officers. They must complete eight weeks of enlisted basic training and 13 weeks of OCS before they can receive their commission.
IV. State ARNG (Army National Guard) OCS programs: Available in every state of the Union. These are exclusively commissioning programs for people who want to become officers in the National Guard or what is called “Guaranteed Reserve Force Duty.”
This program is basically a one-weekend a month officer candidate program that goes on for one year for enlisted members and NCOs currently serving in the National Guard who are college graduates.
Usually, for one year, the candidate attends a weekend-long training course every month in lieu of his/her unit’s regular drill, plus several weeks training in the summer, enabling them to receive their commissions as 2LT in their home national guard unit. Of course, they are considered reserve officers, not active duty or regular army officers.
V. The U.S. Marine Corps. also has a commissioning program through the Naval Academy route (USNA), Naval ROTC, and OCS. These programs require their officer candidates to attend pre-commissioning officer basic training in the summertime at Quantico or PI.
For college graduates or those who attend universites that do not have NROTC, there are also OCS programs, which requires officer candidates to attend a special 13-week OCS boot camp at Quantico before they can be considered for commissioning.
Enlisted members and NCO’s in the U.S. Marine Corps. can also be commissioned if they have a college degree and are selected to attend OCS. The U.S. Army has a similar program as well. However, these programs are only available to college graduates who do well on the Officer Battery Exam.
So in short, do not discount your officer friend who refers to having been trained by drill sergeants during basic training.
Obviously, this is a common experience for most officers, and suggests that that officer was either: 1) An OCS graduate who would’ve been required to complete enlisted basic training before attending OCS; 2) A “Mustang”, i.e., an officer who had prior enlisted service before receiving a commission through either OCS, ROTC or West Point; or 3) An ROTC graduate who attended ROTC “Basic Camp” at Ft. Knox, or an ROTC graduate who attended enlisted basic training as a USAR/ARNG enlisted soldier and served as an SMP cadet in a USAR/ARNG unit before commissioning.
