Sgt. Devin Crawford is a drill sergeant’s drill sergeant. No, really. He trains Reserve soldiers who are preparing for a stint at the Drill Sergeant Academy at Fort Jackson, South Carolina.

The 30-year-old Army Reserve carpentry and masonry specialist took top honors at this year’s Drill Sergeant of the Year competition at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, relying on “perseverance and drive, and being resilient,” he told Army Times in a Thursday phone interview.

“I know I didn’t win every event, but I didn’t let that stick with me,” he said after the awards ceremony. “I moved onto the next one, made adjustments and kept pushing forward.”

He was one of 11 NCOs who began the competition on Monday, in the Army’s first initial entry trainer event since bringing drill sergeants back to advanced individual training, widening the pool of possible candidates and effectively canceling the AIT Platoon Sergeant of the Year competition.

Heading into it, Crawford spent 20 days on active duty, training in Montana.

“So I was training in the elevation, and they threw everything they could at us,” he said. “I definitely had to put in the work. I definitely studied and trained up.”

The competition itself is largely based on the element of surprise, so there’s only so much one can prepare for.

“Being in this competition, you know when you come in, you’re going to qualify, you’re going to do a PT test and you’re going to go on a ruck march,” Crawford said. “Those were the only events I knew were coming, so I wasn’t really concerned, because I didn’t know what was going to be put in front of me.”

So on top of mastering Level 1 warrior skills and drill sergeant modules of instruction, competitors have to stay on their toes for each event.

“By the time you knew what it was, you were already in it, so you didn’t have time worry about it — you just had to execute,” Crawford said,

He added that the key was “overall just trying to stay awake and stay motivated throughout it.”

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Back home, Crawford is based in Neenah, Wisconsin, with 1st Brigade, 95th Training Division, where his unit trains the future trainers, so to speak.

Crawford’s previous assignment was the Illinois-based 327th Military Police Battalion, including a deployment to Afghanistan in 2013.

A Kenosha, Wisconsin, police officer, Crawford said he has 60 days to go home and get married before heading back on active duty this fall.

“Thanks to everyone,” he added. “The support I had from my family, my friends and my fiancée is what got me through.”

Meghann Myers is the Pentagon bureau chief at Military Times. She covers operations, policy, personnel, leadership and other issues affecting service members.

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