Sailors looking to expand their leadership skills and resources came together during the first at-sea Leading Petty Officer (LPO) Academy course in the Navy, held aboard amphibious transport dock USS Somerset (LPD 25), Feb. 24-25.

The LPO Academy is designed to instruct Sailors to become better leaders and mentors to junior Sailors and themselves, by teaching leaders to influence others to accomplish the mission and use "professionalism" as the end tool. The program is designed and offered by the Enlisted Leadership Academy, a nonprofit organization in San Diego.

"The LPO Academy gives Sailors the opportunity to learn different styles of leadership thought by first class petty officers who are successful LPOs," said Somerset Command Master Chief Avinash "Tony" Ramsingh. "I love the interaction between the Sailors in the class, because it gives them the opportunity to learn from each other and ask each other the hard questions. The LPO Academy helps future leaders of the Navy and gives them the tools to become successful."

During the two-day class, petty officers first and second class are taught different leadership and communication techniques covering mentorship, sponsorship, time management, motivation, prioritization, and delegation.

"This course is not only to teach Sailors on how to be leaders, it's also to get them to get out of their comfort zones and be able to openly talk to each other," said Electrician's Mate 1st Class Christopher Higgins, a facilitator for the course. "When they become the next generation of leaders, they will have all the tools they need to help excel their reliefs."

The course, which is regularly held on shore installations on the southwest coast, was launched on Somerset to determine the ability to conduct the class on deployed vessels.

"The course helped me be able to deal with different situations with Sailors," said Engineman 2nd Class Kameren Matchett. "I learned that by utilizing my peers and chain of command I could more effectively lead."

Somerset's leadership plans to continue holding the course aboard in the future.

"I would recommend this to any leader because leadership starts at all levels," said Matchett. "The faster you can gain a better understanding of how to effectively be a better listener and follower, the faster you can be a better leader."

Somerset and embarked 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit is deployed in the U.S. 5th Fleet area of operations in support of maritime security operations designed to reassure allies and partners and preserve the freedom of navigation and the free flow of commerce in the region.

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

For more news from USS Somerset (LPD 25), visit www.navy.mil/.