Ex-Drum soldier named drill sergeant of the year

FORT DRUM — A former 10th Mountain Division soldier has been named drill sergeant of the year.

Staff Sgt. Michael Johnston, 26, served with the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team. He deployed twice with the unit, once from August 2003 to May 2004 and once from February 2006 to May 2007, according to a story by the Army Times.

Sgt. Johnston is now a drill sergeant at Fort Benning, Ga., and won the 2009 Drill Sergeant of the Year competition June 26. He has been at Fort Benning for the past 18 months and will be reassigned to Fort Monroe, Va., in August.