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Drill Corporal Course Ft. Polk Academy


FtPolkexDS
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If anyone has any info on the Drill Corporal Program at Ft. Polk during the Vietnam War or could furnish any leads, it would be greatly appreciated, it's the missing piece of the puzzle in my tour, I attended in 68, and I think I might have been in the only class graduated, the pocket patch issued is beyond impossible to locate. at this point any lead would be more than greatly appreciated.

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If anyone has any info on the Drill Corporal Program at Ft. Polk during the Vietnam War or could furnish any leads, it would be greatly appreciated, it's the missing piece of the puzzle in my tour, I attended in 68, and I think I might have been in the only class graduated, the pocket patch issued is beyond impossible to locate. at this point any lead would be more than greatly appreciated.

Still hanging in there eh! I would love to find something on this too, I'm quite interested to see what the patch looks like and to see it actually worn, will keep a good thought and the moment we ever see something will post it right away.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I came across this photo, I remember it, I commented on it.

 

It's a pocket patch as we see, and it looks like he's wearing Cpl chevrons too, does it look familiar?

 

It came from the Patches in Action topic, here's the opening dialog and the continuing talk on what it might be, look at posts #s 1516-1517-1518-1519.

 

seanmc1114

Posted 29 September 2014 - 06:49 AM

Here's one I'm not too sure about. This is a picture my father took during his AIT at Fort Polk in 1967. The soldier on the left is wearing a pocket patch that looks like the 163rd Armored Cavalry Regiment. If so, why? At the time, the 163rd was a unit of the Montana National Guard. Could he have been a Guardsman who was already serving with his home unit before reporting for AIT?

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post-1761-0-42604900-1411998498.jpg

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Holy S.... That's it, When you click twice for enlargement you can see the D C in the upper portion of the patch.

 

 

Too seee it up close you have to click on image and click again to really zoom in, doing this enlarges it a lot.

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Appreciate the post, I believe that could be it, wish I knew the colors, because I do remember that it was 3 colors, Gold or yellow, blue and silver, great find and definitely the right time frame, I wore it in 68

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Appreciate the post, I believe that could be it, wish I knew the colors, because I do remember that it was 3 colors, Gold or yellow, blue and silver, great find and definitely the right time frame, I wore it in 68

It has some sort of center device/design, do you remember what it was?

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I asked another member, a MOD, if he can really enlarge the Pocket patch for a better view, I tried to do it but I keep blowing it, not skilled in this practice :lol:.

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And I might add, It is definitely the right shape, I remember that precisely.

Yeah that's got to be man, we'll wait for the enlagement for a close up view. I think the key is to find a load of Plok yearbooks to see if more photos can be spied, hopefully one in a color foto.

 

About getting a original patch??? Hard as hell I imagine.

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Yes, I'm about 99% sure that is indeed the Drill Corporal patch, However I did my AIT at Tigerland and don't remember any Drill Corporals in the cadre, they were all Vietnam vets, E5 and up that I recall. All the guys I graduated with went to BCT units, there were only about 15 or so in my group.

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Found the only pic of me while serving as a Drill Corporal, unfortunately the patch is not at a good angle, but you can see the color of the patch somewhat

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Found the only pic of me while serving as a Drill Corporal, unfortunately the patch is not at a good angle, but you can see the color of the patch somewhat

Man isn't that a bummer, so close but so far :wacko:.

 

A great foto none the less, I sure if one gleans through the few hundred of Polk yearbooks from this period one will be bound to see it worn.

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  • 1 year later...
Retired Army Noncom

There was no such thing as a Drill Cpl School or any slot for a Cpl in any BCT training CMD. There was the Drill Sergeant's Academy at Ft Jackson SC and that was it. No one was allowed to train the boots unless that person was a graduate of the Drill Sergeant's Academy. There was such an animal as a Blue Hat, an NCO waiting for a slot assignment to attend the Academy but until that time he had no duties other than to watch, learn and listen. The Senior Drill would sometimes allow a Blue Hat to march the troops, as I was allowed to do once. I was under the Blue Hat for only five weeks, I was lucky, most waited for months.

 

What photos that have been posted was more than likely a separate CMD and could very well be an assigned cadre of a Reception Center which would have required no training other than being an NCO and CPL's were considered NCOs. When I was serving a CPL outranked all Specialist ranks, even a E-7 Spec 7. They were not considered a leadership position. Later that did change to equal responsibility but if there was an E-7 hard stripe and an Spec 7, the NCO was in charge. That further changed to whoever had the time in grade in the E grade, not the rank.

 

Notice the photo posted is of a patch and not a permanent awarded badge.

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There was no such thing as a Drill Cpl School or any slot for a Cpl in any BCT training CMD. There was the Drill Sergeant's Academy at Ft Jackson SC and that was it. No one was allowed to train the boots unless that person was a graduate of the Drill Sergeant's Academy. There was such an animal as a Blue Hat, an NCO waiting for a slot assignment to attend the Academy but until that time he had no duties other than to watch, learn and listen. The Senior Drill would sometimes allow a Blue Hat to march the troops, as I was allowed to do once. I was under the Blue Hat for only five weeks, I was lucky, most waited for months.

 

What photos that have been posted was more than likely a separate CMD and could very well be an assigned cadre of a Reception Center which would have required no training other than being an NCO and CPL's were considered NCOs. When I was serving a CPL outranked all Specialist ranks, even a E-7 Spec 7. They were not considered a leadership position. Later that did change to equal responsibility but if there was an E-7 hard stripe and an Spec 7, the NCO was in charge. That further changed to whoever had the time in grade in the E grade, not the rank.

 

Notice the photo posted is of a patch and not a permanent awarded badge.

What kind of hat did a Blue hat wear, a ball cap we suppose correct? You made a bit of a typo I noticed there Sarge :D BOOTS, BOOTS of course are Navy and Marine recruits, as in Boot Camp, Army and Air Force are Trainees, or simply Recruits.

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