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9945250.jpgStaff Sgt. Noel Berges, a drill sergeant leader at U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy, receives the Drill Sergeant of the Year pistol belt for being named the 2026 U.S. Army Drill Sergeant of the Year, Sept. 16. (Photo by Nathan Clinebelle)

Army names drill sergeants of the year

By Bailey Senerchia, U.S. Army Recruiting Command

U.S. Army Recruiting Command, known as USAREC, announced the active-duty and reserve drill sergeants of the year after an intense 72-hour physical, tactical and instructional competition at Fort Jackson.

Following 34 graded events, Staff Sgt. Noel Berges, of Leesburg, Virginia, was named the 2026 U.S. Army Drill Sergeant of the Year and Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Harrington, of Mauldin, South Carolina, was named the 2026 U.S. Army Reserve Drill Sergeant of the Year.

“Drill sergeants carry a profound responsibility: forging civilian volunteers into Warfighters,” said Sgt. Maj. of the Army Michael Weimer. “The Drill Sergeant of the Year competition highlights the best of this mission by evaluating these elite NCOs not just on tactical mastery, but on their ability to coach, teach, and mentor our future force.”

During this year’s competition, 14 noncommissioned officers from 13 active-duty and reserve Army units competed for the title.
“Decades from now, Soldiers will forget many names, but they will never forget the name, the face, or the standards of their drill sergeant,” said Command Sgt. Maj. Joseph Wilson, the USAREC command sergeant major.

Along with an Army Fitness Test, competitors completed events designed to test their ability to teach, not just execute. They taught trainees tactical skills like marksmanship, applying camouflage, and individual movement techniques as part of a squad. Competitors also interviewed before a board and briefed leaders on ways to improve how the Army trains drill sergeants.

Berges and Harrington will assume strategic leadership roles at USAREC headquarters at Fort Knox, Kentucky, where they will advise senior leaders on training policy and lead planning for the 2027 competition.

“To be a drill sergeant means you are a coach, you are a mentor. You are a father; you are a chaplain. You are everything and anything to the trainees and future Soldiers of America,” Harrington said.

For career-minded noncommissioned officers, serving as a drill sergeant is a critical broadening assignment that develops elite leaders while accelerating career advancement.

This is the first time USAREC managed the event. As the Army’s new proponent for the drill sergeant program, the competition exemplifies the expansion of the command’s mission that began in October 2025.

USAREC is now the executive agent for the Army’s Force Generation Pipeline. The command oversees the complete arc of a qualified applicant’s entry into service, from initial contact with prospects, to delivering fully trained Soldiers through Basic Combat Training. The command also develops tomorrow’s leaders through ROTC, JROTC, the U.S. Army Recruiting College and the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy.

 
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Across the Army

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Across T2COM

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Across IMCOM

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