DECEMBER 29, 2025 – It isn’t every day that you see a drill sergeant remove their campaign hat and engage in conversation with Soldier-trainees. But the odds of it happening increase significantly during Holiday Block Leave (HBL).
While thousands of Fort Gordon Soldiers traveled home for the holidays, roughly 200 Soldier-trainees chose to stay behind, making it the largest known number to date. And regardless of their reason for staying, Fort Gordon cadre are doing what they can to ensure that no Soldier feels left behind despite their decision.
“The intent is to bring together the Soldiers who did not travel home during Holiday Block Leave … to make them feel a sense of family and camaraderie together while they’re here for the holiday season,” explained Capt. Tiffany Morrow, commander of Foxtrot Company, 369th Signal Battalion.
Morrow’s company is comprised of enlisted Soldiers currently enrolled in either the Signal or Cyber School who did not travel for HBL. Rather than completely leave these Soldiers to their own device, two weeks’ worth of activities and outings are planned for them to participate in if they choose – most at zero cost to the Soldier and with transportation provided. Golf, paintball, bowling, go-kart racing, several catered meals, trips to Macon and Atlanta for sporting events, and dinner/trivia night with a local veterans organization are among the highlights.
“They have the opportunity the day prior to each event to sign up so that they know what to forecast for the next day – to decide whether or not they want to participate,” Morrow said.
Those who don’t participate in any given activity are released to “go enjoy their time,” but must return by 8 p.m. for accountability formation. Soldiers must also report for accountability formation (and breakfast) each morning but are released soon after.
Participation in most of the planned activities is optional, but there are a few mandatory ones intended to ensure that each Soldier spends time outside of their barracks.
“Unfortunately, some [Soldiers] don’t want to get out, but then they realize after the fact that, ‘This is fun,’ they sign up for something else, and that’s kind of our goal,” Morrow said.
“I think sometimes they don’t realize they just need to be around people,” added Regimental Command Sgt. Maj. Lisa Gandy, U.S. Army Signal School. “You don’t want anyone sleeping in their bed all day, especially during the holidays.”
Drill sergeants play a key role in fostering an environment where the Soldier-trainees can relax without worry during HBL. Sgt. 1st Class David Clifton is one of those drill sergeants. Dressed in civilian attire, Clifton watched as about a dozen Soldier-trainees spent their afternoon playing archery tag on Barton Field as one of several planned activities.
“This is treated like a time for them to take a knee and also for them to even see a different side of the cadre,” Clifton said. “Not that we’re getting personal or anything with them, but … I haven’t raised my voice in two weeks. We don’t want to stress them out during this time. We’re looking after them, and they have battle buddies who are communicating with them so that way if they are in a bad spot, we can get them any help they need.”
For the most part, Clifton said the Soldiers appear to be in good spirits and eager to participate in many of the activities. Among the most popular was paintball, which had a limited number of participants allowed and quickly reached max capacity.
Command Sgt. Maj. Christopher Stadler, 551st Signal Battalion, was one of a few leaders who joined in on the paintball action. Echoing some of Clifton’s sentiments, Stadler said there is “a time and place” for junior and senior service members to come together. The holiday season is one of those times.
“Being able to sometimes dial back and let them know that there is a human behind every rank in the Army, whether you are a general or sergeant major, it gives you that human dimension,” Stadler said. “I think you become one of the teammates by doing that … over time, it builds trust and all those types of things that are crucial in the military.”
Soldiers who traveled for the holidays will soon return to Fort Gordon, and training will resume. Gandy hopes that when that day comes, the Soldiers who stayed behind will have positive stories to share and eventually look back on as fond memories.
“We always say that the Army is a family, and they are getting a little taste of that early on in their career,” Gandy said. “Maybe they don’t have a family to go back to during Holiday Block Leave, but they have family here, and I think this is a perfect example of that.”
Story by Laura Levering
U.S. Army Signal School