By Melissa Buckley, Fort Leonard Wood Public Affairs Office

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (July 31, 2025) — Out of more than 700 Fort Leonard Wood drill sergeants, one Maneuver Support Center of Excellence Soldier has proven to be the best of the best —Sgt. 1st Class Gil Rodriguez, with Company C, 3rd Battalion 10th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Chemical Brigade, who has been named the 2025 MSCoE Drill Sergeant of the Year.

MSCoE’s competition was narrowed down to eight competitors from various units across post, who were tested on physical fitness, Soldiering skills and drill sergeant expertise July 21 to 24, during a heat wave that produced heat index values of up to 110 degrees.

At the award ceremony July 30 in Lincoln Hall Auditorium, MSCoE and Fort Leonard Wood Command Sgt. Maj. Jorge Arzabala said the competition was designed to find Fort Leonard Wood’s most disciplined, fit and effective instructor.

“This was 96 hours of intense competition,” Arzabala said.

While drill sergeants are expected to be experts in warrior tasks and battle drills, they were also graded on the core duty of a drill sergeant, their ability to effectively teach new Soldiers.

The competition consisted of many of the same tasks taught in basic combat training including marksmanship, physical readiness training, first aid, day infiltration course, land navigation, methods of instruction and a formal selection board.

Rodriguez, who has been a drill sergeant for one year, said he is proud to be a drill sergeant and hearing his name called as the winner was “surreal.”

“I get to have a hand in training Soldiers and make a difference in their lives,” Rodriguez said. “I work hard to make sure they are disciplined and are the very best Soldiers I can send to the Army.”

Rodriguez will go on to compete for the title of U.S. Army Drill Sergeant of the Year at Fort Jackson, South Carolina, in September.

The competition will physically and mentally challenge competitors from each of the U.S. Army Centers of Excellence, the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy and each of the U.S. Army Reserve training divisions.

More photos from the competition are available to view on the Fort Leonard Wood Flickr page at https://www.flickr.com/photos/fortleonardwood/albums/72177720327682071.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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About Fort Leonard Wood

Fort Leonard Wood is a thriving and prosperous installation that has evolved from a small basic training post more than 80 years ago to a premier Army Center of Excellence that trains nearly 80,000 military and civilians each year.

Fort Leonard Wood is home to the U.S Army Maneuver Support Center of Excellence and three U.S. Army schools: the U.S. Army Engineer School; U.S. Army Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear School; and the U.S. Army Military Police School. In addition to training engineer, CBRN and military police specialties for the Army, Fort Leonard Wood also provides gender-integrated in-processing and Basic Combat Training for new Soldiers.

Fort Leonard Wood also hosts and trains with the largest Marine Corps Detachment and Air Force Squadron on any Army installation as well as a large Navy construction detachment.