Even if you’ve never spent a day of your life in the U.S. Marine Corps, you can probably pull up a mental image of one of the Marines’ drill instructors up at a moment’s notice. Some of that has to do with that role’s place in popular culture: in films like Full Metal Jacket, the late R. Lee Ermey — himself a onetime drill instructor for the Marines — was a searing presence on screen.
In 1987, Ermey told The New York Times that being a drill instructor was not unlike acting. “Nobody can be that nasty,” he said. Much as actors can benefit from certain vocal exercises, so too can their counterparts in the Marine Corps. At Task & Purpose, Jeff Schogol spoke with Gunnery Sgt. Jensen Runion, who was recently named Drill Instructor of the Year, about the techniques required to be loud without devastating your voice.
Paradoxically, the key to not losing your voice might involve…losing your voice. Runion told Task & Purpose that he had learned to “blow out your voice” when instructing recruits. “You keep screaming; you keep blowing out the hot air; then your voice comes back stronger and faster every time,” he explained. And I feel that helped me a lot.”
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This limited-edition MK1 blends understated design, affordability and historyRunion also told Task & Purpose that he relied upon his training, which emphasized using his diaphragm. “The only technique that I use: I just scream louder, and then it just kind of comes back from there,” he said — though he also mentioned that other drill instructors use lozenges or tea to keep their voices healthy. A Marine Corps Times article from 2015 also cited pickle juice and lime juice as remedies some drill instructors have found useful in preserving their voices.
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