Sound Off

Opportunities to Excel

For Marines, recruit training and Officer Candidate School are the first transformational steps in a journey filled with growth and challenge.

The rest of their time in the Corps – whether four years or 20 – is spent honing the skills learned in initial training and developing new personal capabilities to excel. The drive to become better Marines and leaders through education and training is a hallmark of today’s warriors.

Marine Corps Institute courses, Staff Noncommissioned Officer Academies, off-duty education – all are career-enhancing forays on a Marine’s journey from signing up to checking out.

The tangible and intangible skills learned in uniform and sharpened with time in the Corps are carried forward to life after service as a leatherneck. But to fight today’s battles and the emerging threats of the 21st century, even more is expected of Marines.

Marines are learning to fight a new type of war – the asymmetrical war. This type of battle, characterized by non-force-on-force tactics, requires quicker, more adaptable and highly trained warriors..

Fortunately, these are traits Marines have excelled at throughout our history. As an institution, the Corps is adapting – shifting capabilities – and individual Marines are also rising to the challenge

Marines can take advantage of new programs such as the MOS Roadmaps to better chart career progress. Advanced knowledge bases like the Center for Advanced Operational Culture Learning at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Va., increase Marines’ understanding of the people we help and the enemies we fight.

Change is in the air and opportunities abound, but the challenge remains for the individual Marine to take advantage of these opportunities..

In this issue, Marines looks at how to better chart a journey in the Corps, the upcoming changes that will affect Marines and programs designed to help them in uniform and out. As in years past, Marines continue to do what we do best, adapt to the situation and fight our nation’s battles.

Semper Fi,
Marines