Space Force Guardians make history as 1st in branch to become Army Drill Sergeants

FORT JACKSON, SC (WOLO) — One hundred and two soldiers can now call themselves U.S. Army Drill Sergeants after Fort Jackson’s graduation ceremony this morning.

Two Space Force Guardians are making history within their branch as the first to cross over and share that title.

TSGT David Gudgeon and SGT Yuji Moore started as non-commissioned officers in the Air Force before transferring into Space Force.

And now, in what’s loosely referred to as cross-pollination of the branches, they can add Drill Sergeant to their list of accomplishments.

ABC Columbia’s Lee Williams asked the Space Force history-makers about their nine week crossover in the Army — having endured nearly 450 hours of instruction with the other soldiers.

“Coming to an Army Academy and experiencing how they deliver information and how they communicate effectively as NCOs or Non-commissioned Officers, has just been outstanding and a great broadening opportunity for both of us,” says Gudgeon.

“I had to continuously lean on my battle buddies, to be like ‘Hey, what is this?’ and not be afraid to ask those questions. And they made the environment very conducive for me to feel comfortable and be vulnerable and be that new guy, so it’s been great,” says Moore.

“We were doing tasks that are normal in the Army Basic Combat Training environment, but it was completely new to us. So climbing a big tower, repelling down, getting in front of groups and delivering pitches and going through modules — public speaking to the n’th degree. And just being held accountable as that leader,” says Gudgeon.

“They have something called “Be Know Do,” and that’s been an amazing concept, and they really instill the importance of what it really means to be the subject matter expert of the thing you’re actually teaching.  So they made sure that we understood that at the foundational level and actually be able to teach that right after that,” says Moore.

Both Gudgeon and Moore will instruct future Space Force Cadets for the next two to three years before moving into a field of their choice.

Their own Army Drill Instructors, SSGT Sheldon Saia and SFC Zachary Kountz hope this experience opens the door for more firsts.

“Hopefully the opportunities moving forward with other branches of service that can come here and we can lead, train and develop them as well. I hope this is the start of a new beginning between the forces and I’m excited to see what we have moving forward,” says Kountz.

Currently headquartered at the Pentagon, Space Force was established in 2019 — the first new military branch to come about since the Air Force was created in 1947.

And according to CDR Clinton Emry of Space Force’s 1st Delta Ops Detachment One, it’s more necessary than ever.

“If we have a bad day in space, it’s a bad day for everybody. So for instance, if GPS has a bad day, your cell phone may or may not lock up to that cell phone tower. Your ATM card may not work, and our adversaries would wish to handicap our space capabilities which then would handicap our Army’s ability to navigate, our Navy’s ability to transit any of the oceans,” he says.

All Army Drill Sergeants across the US are trained at Fort Jackson.