Photo By Staff Sgt. Natalie Rubenak | U.S. service members recite the noncommissioned officer creed during a Corporals...... read more read more
U.S. Marines assigned to Joint Task Force Southern Guard at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, stood up a Corporals Course, Sept. 8-24, 2025, bringing a key element of professional military education to junior leaders assigned to JTF-SG.
Corporals Course is a professional military education class that is designed to shape confident and capable small unit leaders through a combination of classroom instruction and hands-on application. The course emphasized physical fitness, mentoring and practical exercises that challenged students to apply what they’ve learned in real-world scenarios.
As they transition to the next rank, this course equips graduates with skills and knowledge needed to for the increased responsibilities of the noncommissioned officer rank.
With JTF-SG being a joint environment, Marines assigned to 3d Battalion, 2d Marines Lima Company, opened the course to other services that fall under the task force. The class of 30 students included two Airmen and five Sailors, an uncommon but deliberate decision to build early joint understanding at the small unit leader level.
"The most important thing that the young leaders learned from this class is how to build and maintain camradery amongst fellow noncommissioned officers,” said U.S. Marine Corps 1st Sgt. Emily Sandoz, JTF-SG V3/2 Lima Company first sergeant. “This course gives them the ability to take time to focus on their own development and take the lessons learned and apply back at their unit.”
Though Corporals Course is rooted in Marine Corps heritage, the lessons taught translate directly to modern operations where interoperability is essential. Joint professional military education efforts like this allow junior leaders to experience the realities of joint cooperation before facing them in an operational environment.
For the students, the joint atmosphere was a defining feature.
“One thing I took away from this course was the different ways to lead,” said U.S. Air Force Senior Airman Cameron Marshall, JTF-SG air transportation specialist. “I’ll take everything I learned here and bring it back to my team.”
During the graduation ceremony, the graduates commemorated the ceremony by reciting the NCO creed, a code of conduct often to remind enlisted leaders of their roles and responsibilities as the backbone of the force.
“It was a great experience learning about the culture of a different branch and all the traditions that come with it,” Marshall stated.
By the end of the two-week course, every graduate, whether in a Marine Corps combat utility uniform, a Navy working uniform or an Air Force operational camouflage pattern uniform, walked away with the ability to lead their people and tackle the challenges of joint operations.
| Date Taken: | 09.26.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 09.26.2025 15:11 |
| Story ID: | 549429 |
| Location: | NAVAL STATION GUANTANAMO BAY, CU |
| Web Views: | 9 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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