MDNG RRB De-Hats a Senior Drill Sergeant
Article and photos by Staff Sgt. Chazz Kibler, MDNG Recruiting and Retention Battalion
Sgt. 1st Class Dave Clark, senior drill sergeant, Maryland National Guard, Recruiting and Retention Battalion, center, prepares to remove his senior drill sergeant belt during a De-Hatting and Change of Responsibility Ceremony.
REISTERSTOWN, Md. – Drill sergeants wear the campaign hat as a testament to their demonstrated professionalism, commitment to the mission, and proven leadership. However, no soldier can wear the campaign hat forever. On March 5, 2022, the Maryland National Guard Recruiting and Retention Batallion celebrated Sgt. 1st Class Dave Clark, a recruiter and retention noncommissioned officer assigned to the same battalion, during his De-Hatting Ceremony at Camp Fretterd Military Reservation in Reisterstown, Maryland. The De-Hatting Ceremony is a symbolic tradition where drill sergeants retire their campaign hats after completing their tour.
“My time as a Senior Drill Sergeant has come to an end,” said Clark in a post he wrote on his social media. “It has been the best years of my Army career. I want to thank everyone that played a part in it, onto the next chapter.”
Sgt. 1st Class Dave Clark’s demonstrated professionalism, commitment to the mission, and proven leadership will continue in a different role as a recruiting and retention noncommissioned officer in the MDNG, where he has already won the Rookie of the Year award for recruiting in 2021. 
However, where one journey ends, another begins. Sgt. 1st Class Quintin Queen picked up where Clark left off and assumed responsibility as the MDNG RRB’s senior drill sergeant.
Queen said the road to becoming a drill sergeant was tough because his packet was denied several times. But Queen did not let the word “no” stop him from pursuing his goals. He continued to apply year after year until he got a yes. Queen graduated from the U.S. Army Drill Sergeant Academy in March 2020 and assumed the role of senior drill sergeant two years later.
Clark and Queen’s recent success adds to the growing accomplishments of the RRB. During the 2021 fiscal year, the MDNG’s RRB finished as the top state in region two for year-to-date accessions.