Forward-deployed Marines complete first local blended Expeditionary Warfare School seminar

Photo By Cpl. Samantha Rodriguez | U.S. Marines stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni learn of the squadrons that compose Fleet Air Wing 31, a tenant command of MCAS Iwakuni, from Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force Lt. Cmdr. Ogawa Yoshikazu, an EP-3 aircraft pilot with Air Reconnaissance Squadron 81, Fleet Air Wing 31, during a JMSDF museum tour at MCAS Iwakuni, Japan, Dec. 5, 2024. These Marines were students of the first locally-offered blended Expeditionary Warfare School seminar at the air station. On this day, the students visited a Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force museum, historic sites, and toured an F-35B Lightning II aircraft squadron to learn of the base's history and capabilities of the tenant commands. The Blended EWS Seminar Program provides company grade and warrant officers with formal education in amphibious operations and planning. This was the first iteration of the Blended EWS Seminar Program at MCAS Iwakuni, providing an important professional military education opportunity to the Marine officers stationed at this forward-deployed base. (U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Samantha Rodriguez)  

YAMAGUCHI, JAPAN

12.13.2024

Story by Cpl. Samantha Rodriguez 

1st Marine Aircraft Wing   

MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan -- U.S. Marines stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Iwakuni, Japan, have graduated from the first blended Expeditionary Warfare School seminar offered at the air station. The graduates completed a five-and-a-half-month-long course that combined in-person and remotely taught seminars. This particular seminar was a pilot program to gauge its flexibility as an accelerated professional military education opportunity at a forward-deployed base.

“The mission of this course is to create capable Marine Air-Ground Task Force officers that can be solid leaders when it comes to planning in diverse environments,” said Nathan Nastase, the seminar’s chief instructor. He stated that the hope is for the Marines to return as “more valuable contributors to their organization with skills that reach far beyond their military occupational specialty.”

The diverse group included personnel from Marine Aircraft Group 12, the U.S.’s only permanently forward-deployed F-35B unit in the Indo-Pacific, and Headquarters and Headquarters Squadron, MCAS Iwakuni, providing a large swath of perspectives and distinct expertise to the course material. These MOSs ranged from F-35B and KC-130J pilots, aircraft maintenance, military police, staff judge advocate, supply, and communication strategy and operations. “They have a network of fellow students who work in various places around the installation. This fosters an environment where they can learn from one another,” Nastase added when discussing how this seminar fostered new connections between Marines on the installation and facilitated the exchange of ideas.

“On this installation, they’re full-time students, they’re still at home with their families, and they’re still plugged in at the workplace,” Nastase added. The seminar’s design acknowledged the base’s forward-deployed nature and operational commitments in the Indo-Pacific by offering an immersive academic experience while allowing students to remain partially integrated with their units. Capt. Katherine Montgomery, a pilot with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) 242, emphasized the program's benefits in supporting her operational commitments.

“We are preparing for deployment soon, so I need to earn certain qualifications and additional training to maintain my flight currency,” Montgomery stated. “This means the squadron is not losing a pilot for the deployment like they would be if I were in Okinawa the whole time to complete my professional military education.”

Montgomery also noted that the program enabled her to provide leadership and foster unit cohesion while completing the coursework.

Currently, Marines pursuing EWS can attend a year-long residency course in Quantico, Va., or enroll in remote courses that take a minimum of two years to complete. If this course proves successful, it may pave the way for similar opportunities, offering Marine officers a flexible and efficient pathway to complete their professional military education while addressing the unique challenges of forward-deployed environments.

• Date Taken: 12.13.2024
• Date Posted: 12.14.2024 02:32
• Story ID: 487374
• Location: YAMAGUCHI, JP