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    Building the Foundation: Sailors graduate Corporals Course alongside Marines aboard USS

    SOUTH CHINA SEA

    02.21.2020

    Story by Cpl. Isaac Cantrell  

    31st Marine Expeditionary Unit       

    SOUTH CHINA SEA -- Since its emergence in 1775, mission accomplishment within the Marine Corps has rested on the shoulders of leaders at the lowest levels; namely, its noncommissioned officers. Often said to be the “backbone of the Marine Corps,” NCOs are in the unique position to serve as the vital link between their junior Marines and their higher leadership and ensure mission accomplishment. This frame of mind focused on small-unit leadership has honed the Corps into one of the most illustrious and revered fighting forces in world history. Now, the Marine Corps is beginning to push this mentality outward to its brother and sister services in the U.S. military.
    On Feb. 21, 2020, 11 Sailors and 79 Marines graduated a Corporals Course while deployed aboard amphibious assault ship USS America (LHA 6). Corporals Course, traditionally offered solely to Marines once they reach the rank of corporal, is focused on honing leadership traits through open discussions, leadership development, physical training and classes focused on a variety of topics, ranging from warfighting to the Marine Corps ethos of honor, courage and commitment. It’s absolutely vital to establish and develop these traits in the early stages of our young leader’s careers in order to allow them to develop both personally and professionally, according Sgt. Maj. Matthew Dorsey, battalion sergeant major of 1st Battalion, 5th Marines, and the director of this iteration of Corporals Course.
    “When you build a house, you start at the foundation,” Dorsey said. “We need to start as soon as possible setting a foundation with our junior leaders and making sure they understand the importance of their role.
    “Corporals Course breaks them away from their primary jobs to focus on the things that will allow them to be better as leaders and help them gain perspective from others in the class,” Dorsey went on to say.
    At the end of each iteration of Corporals Course, one Marine from the graduating class is voted by their classmates to be the Gung-Ho Marine– the individual that demonstrates an attitude of motivation and esprit de corps.
    “The Gung-Ho recipient is voted on by the class, which is a great opportunity for the class to determine what right looks like in their eyes and serves as a reward to that individual for being a good example at all times,” Dorsey said.
    Due to the integrated nature of this iteration, one Sailor, Fire Controlman 3rd Class Chandler Price, was also chosen to be the Gung-Ho student. Working side-by-side with his green-side counterparts was a unique experience for Price, who said that although he may work on a ship with Marines, he rarely gets an opportunity to sit down, talk and work through problems with his brothers and sisters in the Corps.
    “We’ve done a lot of small group work and I think that may have been the most important part – to break down and sit there and brainstorm as a group over a topic and discuss it,” said Price. “We all have different backgrounds that allow us to approach a subject in a different way and teach that to other people.”
    Cpl. Michael Cenci, a force reconnaissance Marine with the 31st MEU’s Maritime Raid Force and the Gung-Ho Marine from this course, echoed Price’s sentiment, expressing that Marines often don’t get an opportunity to participate in professional military education with people from different jobs, let alone different branches of service.
    “To get their perspective on how the Navy runs things vice how the Marine Corps runs things was unique,” Cenci said. “We were able to find out how similar we are when it comes to our ethos and mission in general. We’re all in this together.”
    One of the most important aspects of this course was the opportunity to network with his teammates on the America, according to Cenci, who said that this collaboration would help things run much smoother on the ship.
    “As a force reconnaissance Marine, after a raid I have to conduct tactical site exploitation,” Cenci said, referring to the process of photographing and documenting sensitive enemy information after an objective has been seized. “Now, when I get back to the America I personally know who to hand that info off to and I know it’s going into the right hands.”
    Along with Gung-Ho certificates, Cenci and Price were both presented with special challenge coins from Sgt. Maj. Edwin Mota, sergeant major of the 31st MEU, for their performance during Corporals Course.
    Although few service members outside of the Marine Corps have been provided the opportunity to participate in Corporals Course in the past, Price believes that this course should more commonly be offered to members of all branches, especially his fellow Sailors. While the focus of Navy petty officer indoctrination courses is on the formalities of the rank and how to address subordinates and superiors, Corporals Course develops its participants into more effective small-unit leaders, according to Price.
    “This course gets in to a lot more detail with professional military knowledge,” Price said. “It’s really opened my eyes and helped me learned a lot of things, especially leadership traits that I can use to lead my junior Sailors.”
    While this course was unique in its integration, Dorsey hopes for more opportunities for his Marines to work alongside service members from other branches and continue to build essential relationships with their brothers and sisters in arms.
    “I think this is a unique and necessary opportunity to bring the Navy and Marine Corps teams together,” said Dorsey. “It’s another chance to reinforce the fact that our integration and partnership as a Blue-Green team is vital.”

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    NEWS INFO

    Date Taken: 02.21.2020
    Date Posted: 02.22.2020 03:20
    Story ID: 363688
    Location: SOUTH CHINA SEA

    Web Views: 99
    Downloads: 0

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