Photo By Airman 1st Class Thalia Bonte | From the left, U.S. Army Command Sgt. Maj. Trevor Clark, command sergeant major for...... read more read more
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The 128th Aviation Brigade announced the winner of its Drill Sergeant of the Year Competition on May 21. The two-day event saw three drill sergeants from the 1-222d Aviation Regiment compete against each other to see who best embodied the mission of a drill sergeant.
“The DSOY Competition is a culminating event of all our top drill sergeants,” said U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Rachel Helmsbean, a drill sergeant with Charlie Company, 1-222d AVNRG, 128th AVNBDE. “They’re representing their companies and one triple deuce (1-222d AVNRG) as subject matter experts.”
Helmsbean was the winner of last year’s competition and was this year’s host. She was responsible for managing all the events and tallying each competitor’s scores.
The competition featured multiple events designed to test the drill sergeants' skills.
“A drill sergeant has to be mentally and physically fit,” saidHelmsbean. “They have to have the ability to talk to and train Soldiers and balance being firm and empathetic while upholding the standard.”
For Staff Sgt. Joseph Gonzalez, a drill sergeant with Charlie Company, 1-222d AVNRG, 128th AVNBDE, becoming a drill sergeant was something he always aspired to achieve.
“I was impacted by my basic training drill sergeants,” said Gonzalez. “Leading by example was a big part of what they did. They didn’t just tell people how to do something; they showed people how to do something because they had done it before. I wanted to be able to provide that guidance and knowledge to the future generation.”
After being selected as Drill Sergeant of the Quarter, Gonzalez advanced to compete in the DSOY Competition, which was another goal he had worked towards since becoming a drill sergeant.
“I wanted to do this since I started,” said Gonzalez. “It shows that you are going above and beyond what is expected of you as a drill sergeant.”
Months before the competition, Gonzalez had to balance his drill sergeant duties and family life with studying pitches and regulations to ensure he was prepared. During the competition, Gonzalez and his competitors completed various tasks to showcase their capabilities. Some of the events included were an Army Fitness Test, a weapons qualification and a board. During the board, Command Sgt. Maj. Susie Nuuvali, the command sergeant major of the 128th AVNBDE, and other sergeants major from within the unit performed meticulous uniform inspections and asked the competitors personal and professional questions.
After the competition, a ceremony was held announcing Gonzalez as the unit’s new DSOY. His victory shows the important role drill sergeants have in maintaining operational readiness by shaping new Soldiers. By competing, he not only represented what being a drill sergeant means to himself, but to the 128th AVNBDE as well.
“It [the competition] shows the level of expectations and high standards the brigade sets for us,” Gonzalez said. “We want to show that the 128this the top aviation training brigade in the U.S. Army. Winning this competition and going to the next level and winning that proves we’re the best.”
Gonzalez will now go on to showcase that same standard of excellence at Aviation Center of Excellence's DSOY Competition later this year at Fort Rucker, Alabama.
| Date Taken: | 05.27.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 06.10.2026 13:23 |
| Story ID: | 567346 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 20 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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