Greetings from the Association of the United States Army (AUSA), our Army’s and our soldiers’ professional organization.This year at the AUSA Annual Meeting and Exposition we recognized our 2014 drill sergeants, the advanced individual training platoon sergeant and the recruiters of the year.The 2014 Drill Sergeant of the Year is Staff Sgt. Jonathan Miller, 787th Military Police Battalion, 14th Military Police Brigade, Fort Leonard Wood, Mo.The 2014 Army Reserve Drill Sergeant of the Year is Staff Sgt. Christopher Croslin, 95th Training Division, U.S. Army Reserve, Norman, Okla.The 2014 Advanced Individual Training (AIT) Platoon Sergeant of the Year is Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Russell, B Battery, 1st Battalion, 78th Field Artillery Regiment, Fort Sill, Okla.Staff Sgt. Miller will now replace Sgt. 1st Class David Stover, the 2013 Drill Sergeant of the Year and Staff Sgt. Croslin will replace Sgt. Ryan McCaffrey, the 2013 Reserve Drill Sergeant of the Year at the U.S, Army Training and Doctrine Command’s Headquarters at Fort Eustis, Va.Both of these drill sergeants, along with the AIT Platoon Sergeant of the Year Sgt. 1st Class Thomas Russell, will now have the opportunity over the next year to travel and meet with drill sergeants and platoon sergeants on the job and look for opportunities to improve the education and training of future drill sergeants, instructors and soldiers throughout the Army.NCOs competing for AIT platoon sergeant of the year welcomed back the competition this year after it was cancelled last year due to sequestration.In addition to his selection as drill sergeant of the year, Miller also took home the First Sergeant Tobias Meister Award for achieving the highest score on the Army Physical Fitness Test during the competition.A total of 14 noncommissioned officers competed in the competition, six drill sergeants and eight AIT platoon sergeants.Each of these 14 noncommissioned officers represented their military installation and school in one of the Army’s most demanding competitions.When asked about the competition, Miller said, "I knew it was a tight race from the very beginning. This competition was truly the most difficult, most challenging, the best completion that I’ve ever been a part of."Coincidently, on the first day of the competition, Miller, Russell and Croslin met each other during the 5-mile ruck march.These three noncommissioned officers were leading the pack of competitors when they introduced themselves to each other and realized they were not competing against each other but against their peers who were trailing.The energy and drive of these three leaders collectively inspired each other to push harder than any one individual thought possible.The outcome: all three had the opportunity to share in the recognition honors of this year’s elite competition.This year’s competition also marked a series of "firsts" for the drill sergeant program.The distinguished guest speaker at this year’s ceremony was Command Sgt. Maj. Allen Carpenter, USA, Ret., who was the Army’s first drill sergeant of the year in 1969.Carpenter, who was a sergeant first class at the time of his selection in 1969, congratulated and recognized all the competitors as winners for their selection at their respective military installations and schools."There is no room for disappointment in this group. Whether they come out first, or they come out last, it doesn’t matter. They should be honored, because they are here," said Carpenter.The famed drill sergeant statue at Fort Jackson’s Drill Sergeant School is modeled after Carpenter.Carpenter had never seen the statue, his likeness cast in bronze and positioned in front of the Drill Sergeant School since the 1980s.This recognition ceremony marked the 50th anniversary of the drill sergeant program that began in 1964.Drill sergeants from past and present had the opportunity to meet Carpenter and celebrate 50 years of distinguished history in our drill sergeant program."This is the first year that we’ve come up and started a national Drill Sergeant Association," said Command Sgt. Maj. Dennis Woods, command sergeant major, U.S. Army Center for Initial Military Training, Fort Eustis, Va.In conjunction with the Drill Sergeant Association, this year marked the beginning of the Drill Sergeant Hall of Fame and the recognition of four noncommissioned officers.We can all be proud of our drill sergeants and our AIT platoon sergeants across the Army and take this opportunity to reflect on how great this institution has become and why we have the greatest Army in the world.In addition to recognizing the drill sergeants and AIT platoon sergeant of the year, the AUSA Annual Meeting gave us the opportunity to celebrate and recognize the accomplishments of the recruiters of the year from all three components.The United States Army Recruiter of the Year is Staff Sgt. Justin Austin, 5th Recruiting Brigade, Kansas City Recruiting Battalion.The United States Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Noncommissioned Officer of the Year is Sgt. Brooke Bailey, Indiana National Guard, Muncie, Ind.The United States Army Reserve Recruiter of the Year is Sgt. 1st Class Mark Brunette, 3rd Recruiting Brigade, Indianapolis Recruiting Battalion.Austin enlisted in the Army in September 2005 as an infantry soldier.With three deployments in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn, Austin stood out among his peers, resulting in his selection as this year’s top active component recruiter.Bailey’s selection as the top National Guard recruiting and retention NCO started with her selection as Indiana’s top recruiter.Now in her second year as a recruiter, Bailey also represents the first female to earn the prestigious title, United States Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention NCO of the Year.Brunette competed in the recruiter of the year competition last year, where he achieved the runner up position for the United States Army Reserve Recruiter of the Year."Never give up. I competed last year and was USAREC runner up and that truly put a fire in me to compete and win this year," said Brunette.We can all be proud of our recruiters and their unique ability to sustain the all-volunteer force through their recruiting efforts, seeking out the top 23 percent of our nation’s youth.Education, health, fitness, body composition, moral qualifications, tattoos and other discriminators all play a part in limiting the number of potential recruits who meet the standards to wear the uniform of our military services.Finding those potential individual recruits who meet these tough standards and have the propensity to serve; those who have not committed themselves to a scholarship, or want to work the family business or just live in their hometown, define a day in the life of a recruiter.Recruiters today engage the thousands and thousands of small communities and towns across our nation looking for the crème de la crème of our society.These three recruiters distinguished themselves among their peers and we recognize their accomplishments and acknowledge the achievements of all of our recruiters that keep us Army Strong!Now more than ever America’s Army needs AUSA and AUSA needs your membership support.Membership is the volume knob to ensure your voice is amplified many times over and heard throughout the halls of Congress, from sea to shining sea across this country, and throughout every small town and community in-between.Keep America’s Army Strong! Take a Stand! Still Serving, Still Saluting!