Top Army drill sergeant says basic training isn’t just about being tough: ‘We have to operate with empathy’; Task & Purpose, September 24, 2026

 MATT WHITE , Task & Purpose; Top Army drill sergeant says basic training isn’t just about being tough: ‘We have to operate with empathy’

"Sgt. 1st Class Kevin Harrington speaks with a clear, even voice, which, if you’ve ever met an Army drill sergeant, might be surprising. When he discusses life “on the trail,” as drill sergeants describe their jobs, his words are free of the raspy or strained tones that many in his profession have adopted after countless hours of shouted “corrections.”

Part of his unblemished voice, he says, comes from good technique and the occasional cup of tea...

Beyond his voice, as the 2026 Army Reserve Drill Sergeant of the Year, Harrington breaks most of the cliches associated with drill sergeants as a campaign-hatted disciplinarian.

“You think of a ‘drill sergeant,’ you think of yelling, and this authoritative figure that’s always screaming,” Harrington told Task & Purpose. “But we’re so much more than that, right? We are coaches, mentors. We’re fathers. We’re chaplains. We have to operate with empathy...

A “decline” in the rigor of basic training is a perpetual favorite topic of veterans of every age. But the issue of harsher, tougher basic training has gotten a boost since Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth promised to revamp basic training so that drill sergeants would “instill fear,” curse, and “put their hands on recruits.”

Harrington, while avoiding commenting on those policies, said he was confident that current training standards give new recruits all they can handle while producing soldiers ready for the army. 

“Basic combat training is supposed to be challenging,” Harrington said. “We’re not doing anything that is outside of what we’re supposed to be doing as drill sergeants. We’re just making the next warfighter. Between corrective action and corrective training, teaching, mentoring, coaching an individual up, they’re civilians coming off of the couch, the sons and daughters of our citizens, and we have to make them into a soldier.”

The value of a good drill sergeant, he said, is not in harassment or hazing, but in teaching and understanding how to keep recruits on track.

“You know life happens and these individuals go through, you know, tough times, leaving their families, coming from hard situations, and everything like that,” he said. “And you have to be empathetic and support them and coach them through that, and get them to cross the finish line.”

U.S. Marine Band forced to cancel concert with students of color after Trump DEI order; 60 Minutes, March 16, 2025

 60 Minutes; U.S. Marine Band forced to cancel concert with students of color after Trump DEI order

"After an executive order ending DEI initiatives, the U.S. Marine Band canceled a concert featuring young musicians of color. Veterans stepped in to mentor the aspiring musicians."

ALA Announces the 2025 Class of Emerging Leaders; ALA, December 4, 2024

ALA; ALA Announces the 2025 Class of Emerging Leaders

"The American Library Association (ALA) has selected forty-six (46) people to participate in its 2025 class of Emerging Leaders (EL). The EL program is designed to enable library staff and information workers to participate in project planning work groups, network with peers, gain an inside look into ALA structure, and have an opportunity to serve the profession in a leadership capacity early in their careers. See the list of participants.

The Emerging Leaders program will kick off with a day-long session during the ALA LibLearnX: The Library Learning Experience (LibLearnX25) event in Phoenix, Arizona. Participants will continue in a virtual learning and networking environment for six months. The EL program culminates with a poster session where the Emerging Leaders will highlight the results of their project planning work during the ALA 2025 Annual Conference in Philadelphia this June.

Christina Fuller-Gregory and Libby Holtmann, co-chairs of the Emerging Leaders program, look forward to working with this class of Emerging Leaders. Commenting on the EL program, Fuller-Gregory and Holtmann shared that ' We feel privileged to work with a group of dynamic early career librarians and library workers. The 2025 Class of Emerging Leaders continues the EL programs tradition of excellence, bringing with them both a passion for the field, and a desire to continue to advance the larger work or ALA. This year's class can expect to engage in more specialized programming, intentional peer-to-peer engagement, and a continued tradition of providing Emerging Leaders with project-based learning opportunities."

The EL cohort consists of individuals from across the U.S. and Canada. The participants commit to taking part in all aspects of the program and may have an opportunity to serve on an ALA, division, chapter, round table, or affiliate committee or workgroup upon completion.

This year, approximately sixty-one (61%) percent of participants have received sponsorships. The sponsors include ALA divisions, roundtables, the National Associations of Librarians of Color, state chapters, and ALA affiliate organizations. Each sponsor commits to financial support of an Emerging Leader to help defray costs of attending the LibLearnX and the ALA Annual Conferences.

The complete list of the selected participants and sponsoring organizations can be found on the Emerging Leader’s webpage.

The ALA Emerging Leaders program is managed by the ALA Office for Human Resource Development and Recruitment(HRDR)."

Women Don't Need to "Lean In" More; Powerful Men Need to Reach Out; Harvard Business Review, 1/28/13

Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, Harvard Business Review; Women Don't Need to "Lean In" More; Powerful Men Need to Reach Out: "Sandberg does not serve other women well by pretending that companies are a meritocracy that just requires individual effort. She herself was sponsored and propelled, like almost every successful woman I have ever met, by a powerful man, in her case Larry Summers...In the meantime, the most gender balanced companies on the planet are mostly led by men, who thankfully seem to believe more in reaching out to women than Sandberg does. This is what smart women really need. Companies and leaders who believe in them and give them a seat at the table, even if they don't bang on it."