Photo By Kristen Wong | Sgt. Maj. James R. Futrell, sergeant major, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Pacific, shares...... read more read more
Subscribe
MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII - Sgt. Neill Sevelius will add a rocker to his chevrons in February. But the 25-year-old forensic photographer for Joint Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Accounting Command knows that becoming a staff NCO also means preparing to be an exceptional leader.
Through the Staff Sergeant Indoctrination Course, Sevelius and 61 other recently-promoted staff sergeants and selectees from various units are better prepared for their new responsibilities. From Dec. 8-10 at Samuel Adams Sports Grill, the Marines were introduced to the
world of the staff noncommissioned officer.
“You are now the rock, the corner, the pivot point, the builder, the framer of everything that’s going to carry this force forward,” said Lt. Gen. Duane D. Thiessen, commanding general, U.S. Marine Corps
Forces, Pacific, to the Marines.
Mandated for Marines under III Marine Expeditionary Force, the course includes slide presentations and discussions, according to Sgt. Maj. Ronald Halcovich, battalion sergeant major, 3rd Radio Battalion.
“I think it’s important so they have an understanding of what’s expected of them [as a staff noncommissioned officer],” said Halcovich, who led the course.
Halcovich said the course usually occurs mid-October, shortly after the staff sergeant selection period.
Through the course, Sgt. Kristopher Privitar, section leader, Company C, 1st Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, learned new perspectives from meeting staff sergeants with different experiences.
Although Sgt. Christopher Morehead, quality assurance representative, Combat Logistics Battalion 3, will not be promoted until next year, he has already spent a year and a half working in a billet meant for a staff sergeant.
“When I heard about the course, I didn’t know what to expect,” said the 24-year-old.
Morehead said he wanted to educate himself as much as he could in order to pass that information to his Marines. He found guest speaker Maj. Thomas Wood’s presentation particularly engaging. Wood, the
operations officer for 3rd Marine Regiment, talked to the students about how to build a personal philosophy and better learn their role using their skills and knowledge.
“That really threw things into perspective, as far as the importance of leadership traits, leadership principals, education, gathering as much information as you can about what’s going on in the world and in
the Marine Corps as a whole,” Morehead said.
Overall, Sevelius considers the course “empowering.”
“You know you can’t become a master-at-arms just because you put on the rank,” Sevelius said. “It’s a journey.”
| Date Taken: | 12.17.2010 |
| Date Posted: | 12.17.2010 13:14 |
| Story ID: | 62175 |
| Location: | KANEOHE, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 169 |
| Downloads: | 2 |
This work, Staff sergeants learn leadership skills, by Kristen Wong, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
