Sailors aboard the guided-missile cruiser USS Normandy (CG 60) completed a three-day petty officer leadership and advancement course, May 20, in preparation for their upcoming advancement.

Each cycle of advancement-eligible Sailors are required to participate in a petty officer leadership course to learn leadership skills and management techniques.

"The course is really fulfilling. Many people come into the Navy and have never had the opportunity to lead other colleagues, so this is a great place to start", said Operations Specialist 3rd Class Dylan Kinsley. "The class is broken down into sections and is taught by the chief petty officers who lead us every day."

Each lesson plan focuses on topics such as diversity, personnel management, situational awareness, and stress management.

"It truly teaches you the dynamics of what it means to be in charge of people you work with and how to handle yourself as a supervisor and how to handle the responsibilities of being a petty officer," said Damage Controlman 3rd Class Jackson Barringer. "We all deal with different leadership styles everyday, but this allows you to learn and develop your own."

The leadership course is designed to improve mission readiness and overall leadership throughout the Navy.

"We all start out from the bottom, and as we grow through the ranks many people have to take on responsibilities they've never handled before, and that is what this class is all about," said Chief Cryptologic Technician (technical) Ramon Morin. "We are training our replacements, and we need to ensure they are prepared for the task ahead. That is our job as the leaders of our junior Sailors.

Normandy is part of the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group (TRCSG), which consists of the staff of Carrier Strike Group 12, USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 1, Destroyer Squadron (DESRON) 2, and her ships the guided-missile destroyers USS Winston S. Churchill (DDG 81), USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) and USS Farragut (DDG 99).

TRCSG is deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations supporting Operation Inherent Resolve, strike operations in Iraq and Syria as directed, maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the region.

Join the conversation with Normandy online at www.facebook.com/USSNormandy and www.Twitter.com/Normandy. For more news from Normandy, visit www.navy.mil/local/cg60/.

For more news from USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71), visit www.navy.mil/.