Two Sailors from the amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) graduated from the Marine Corps Corporal Leadership Course along with Marines from the 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit, Aug. 9.

The course, known as Corporal's Course, is a professional military education program for Marines that places an emphasis on basic leadership skills at the junior non-commissioned officer level. The intent is to prepare Marines to smoothly transition from subordinates to small unit leaders.

Quote:

"We have a unique opportunity to do this. Integrating Navy personnel creates an open line of communication between the green and blue side. This way, they can work together to solve issues at the lowest level."
-Gunnery Sgt. Brian Downing, 22nd Marine Expeditionary Unit and
the course's chief instructor

"It's a good experience on how [Marines] teach leadership, and I'm learning skills to becoming a better leader."
- Aviation Maintenance Administrationman 3rd Class Destin Thomas

"It teaches you how to lead people in the field. It also teaches you how to work with different personality types. It's a good course, and I'll take all the knowledge with me to the fleet."
- Master-at-Arms 3rd Class Stephan Moore

Quick Facts:

During the two-week event, Sailors and Marines conducted physical training together and studied a variety of topics such as Marine Corps history, leadership, rank structure, and customs and courtesies.

The course will serve as a baseline for the continued integration of Sailors and Marines throughout Wasp's deployment.

Wasp is currently deployed with the Wasp Amphibious Ready Group in support of maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. 6th Fleet area of operations.

For more information about USS Wasp, visit http://www.navy.mil/local/lhd1 or join the conversation at http://www.facebook.com/ussWasp/.

For more information, visit http://www.navy.mil, http://www.facebook.com/usnavy, or http://www.twitter.com/usnavy.

For more news from Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa/U.S. 6th Fleet, visit http://www.navy.mil/.