Photo By Staff Sgt. Greg Thomas | Gunnery Sgt. Vitali Kholodov is the Marine Corps' 2016 drill instructor of the year....... read more read more
Subscribe
The iconic Marine Corps drill instructor is often heralded as representative of the Corps' top 10 percent, and every year, of the over 1,000 drill instructors in the Marine Corps, one is recognized as the top DI in the Corps. This year, that drill instructor comes from Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island.
When you first meet the 2016 drill instructor of the year, Gunnery Sgt. Vitali Kholodov, you will likely never think he's a drill instructor. You won't be over powered by his bravado, nor will you feel miniscule next to his brawn. Instead, you'll likely first notice the intensity in his eyes, and after chatting with him, his humility and quiet confidence will win you over.
"It's hard to take credit just for myself that I'm better than anybody else on Parris Island," said Kholodov. "I don't think that's the case. I just got the opportunity to represent all the hard-working drill instructors on Parris Island. There's plenty of other drill instructors on Parris Island and San Diego working really hard to make the future of our Corps."
Don't let that humility fool you; Kholodov is a stellar Marine. His training record shows multiple expert awards on both the rifle (eight of them) and the pistol (seven of them), a martial arts black belt, first class fitness tests, and a water survival instructor certification.
"For Parris Island to have the DI of the year for the Marine Corps, it speaks volumes to the caliber of Marines we have here aboard the depot transforming the lives of young men and women every day," said Brig. Gen. Austin Renforth, commanding general of Parris Island and the Eastern Recruiting Region. "Gunnery Sgt. Kholodov represents the best of the top 10 percent we call drill instructors. He is a Marines' Marine in addition to being an outstanding mentor to recruits, a husband and a father of three children."
It may disappoint some die-hard Parris Island fans, but Kholodov got his start in the Marine Corps at MCRD San Diego, heading to recruit training there in October 2004, five years after coming to the United States from Russia. Shortly after graduating, he became a helicopter mechanic, about four years later, he earned citizenship, and almost 10 years after becoming a Marine, he volunteered for what's regarded as one of the hardest jobs in the Marine Corps.
"In my mind, the Marine Corps has done a lot for me," said Kholodov, a 34-year-old native of Bend, Ore. "It turned my life around, and I wanted to give something back. The best way I could think of was to make Marines, to share my successes and my experiences, and to pass it on to the new generation of Marines. That's why I chose to become a drill instructor."
Since graduating from Drill Instructor School in September 2014, Kholodov completed three recruit training cycles as a drill instructor and two more as a senior drill instructor, accounting for over 340 new Marines. The last platoon he graduated was the top platoon in the training company. He then went on to serve as a water survival instructor. The next step for Kholodov will take him from training recruits to training Marines as an instructor at Drill Instructor School.
"I'm looking forward to going over there and sharing my successes and my failures with Marines who want to be drill instructors," said Kholodov. "I want to be able to share that with them to set them up for success."
Success is something Kholodov knows quite a bit about. The last platoon he graduated was the company honor platoon, a feat made all the more impressive considering it was the first platoon ever for two of the three drill instructors who worked for him. Kholodov's success isn't just a recent occurrence.
"The [drill instructor] of the year is a Marine who has been top notch since joining the Marine Corps because that is what we expect from the best of the best, excellence from the very beginning," said Sgt. Maj. Paul Davis, the sergeant major of Recruit Training Regiment. "Now, his high level of maturity and history of excellence is being applied to DI School, where he will train the next generation of drill instructors."
| Date Taken: | 02.14.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 02.14.2017 16:06 |
| Story ID: | 223543 |
| Location: | PARRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Hometown: | BEND, OREGON, US |
| Web Views: | 739 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
This work, Bend, Ore.-native, Parris Island DI - top 'hat' in the Corps, by SSgt Greg Thomas, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
