FORT JACKSON, S.C. — Combat in Afghanistan and Iraq may be wearing the Army thin, but it also means that for the first time in decades, a majority of drill sergeants have real-war experience.

Chances are good that each of the 80,000 recruits the Army hopes to attract this year will have a battle-tested teacher. Most drill sergeants now have combat experience, says Col. Kevin Shwedo, assistant chief of staff at the Army's Accessions Command at Fort Monroe in Virginia.

"You know what they teach these soldiers? Everything they wish somebody had taught them at a similar point," Shwedo said.

When these combat veterans talk at Fort Jackson, the Army's largest training center, the recruits pay attention.

"Nine out of 10 listen when I tell them, 'This is what you've got to know,' " said Sgt. 1st Class Derryl Haidek, 35. He served in Iraq with the 82nd Airborne Division and is now a drill sergeant at Fort Jackson. "I've seen 99 percent of what happens in combat. I don't need to raise my voice to make a point."