DATE: September 15, 2017 9:49:18 PM CDT

4 years in a row, Army’s Drill Sergeant of the Year hails from Fort Leonard Wood

PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICE

FORT LEONARD WOOD, MISSOURI 65473

VOICE:  573-563-4145

BY:  Public Affairs Office

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. – For the fourth year in a row, the Army’s Drill Sergeant of the Year hails from Fort Leonard Wood.

Enduring a weeklong competition that was mentally and physically demanding, Staff Sgt. Chad Hickey, a confinement specialist with Company E, 795th Military Police Battalion at Fort Leonard Wood, was named the 2017 Army Drill Sergeant of the Year.

Hickey’s predecessors, Martin Delaney III, Jacob Miller and Jonathan Miller were all military police drill sergeants from Fort Leonard Wood, claiming the 2016, 2015 and 2014 Army drill sergeant titles, respectively.

Speaking to the Army Times after the competition, Hickey said he was “very surprised” when his name was announced as the winner.

“There was a great field out here and a whole lot of people who did a great job,” said Hickey, who has served in the Army for 12 years.

In addition, the Army named Staff Sgt. Bryan Ivery as this year’s AIT Platoon Sergeant of the Year. Ivery is a cryptologic linguist at the Presidio of Monterey in California.

-30-

For more information, contact the Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office at 573.563.4145.