The Marine Corps is launching a new school for staff noncommissioned officers intended to streamline education for more senior Marines and better prepare them for leadership responsibilities in the fleet.
The Staff Noncommissioned Officer Leadership School, or SLS, will launch in April as a pilot program, according to a news release from the service on Dec. 23. Prior to the pilot program, staff noncommissioned officers and gunnery sergeants attended different schools.
Now, as part of the pilot program, junior and midgrade noncommissioned officers will attend the same school in an effort to "provide a higher standard of leadership training" to that population of Marines, according to the service.
"This new SNCO leadership school is a critical step in strengthening our staff noncommissioned officer corps," Brig. Gen. Matthew Tracy, commanding general of Education Command, said in the news release.
"By integrating leadership studies, an acculturation of standards, and professional development, we are creating more capable, resilient leaders who will guide Marines through both combat and peacetime challenges with confidence and integrity," he added.
According to an accompanying administrative message released the same day, the school will be seven weeks long for those taking it in person. The program offers a "seminar" option that will last 15 weeks, and those in the Marine Corps Reserve will attend a two-week version of the school.
The SLS "refines" staff noncommissioned officer counseling techniques, "while deepening their understanding of complex personnel issues," according to the news release. It will also bolster problem-solving skills, mentorship, "Marine Corps warfighting philosophy" and leadership skills within joint missions, among other themes.
By combining the schools, the Marine Corps said it intends to also "reduce stress on the force and ensure timely, high-quality education" for staff noncommissioned officers.
"Training and Education Command consistently reviews and updates enlisted and officer continuum to develop ethical, agile, adaptive leaders who can apply critical thinking skills in any clime and place to maintain our asymmetric advantage of decentralized leadership and execution," Maj. Hector Infante, a spokesperson for Training and Education Command, told Military.com in an email Friday. "The current operating environment demands the service prioritize locating our [staff noncommissioned officers] at the point of friction and decision, leading their Marines and units."
The new pilot program may be a permanent fixture in Marine Corps professional education, according to the administrative message. Existing schools will be offered through June for distance learning and through February for in-person learning, and senior noncommissioned officers who have already taken those legacy programs will not have to attend the SLS, according to the message.
Infante said that the SLS is part of an "ongoing effort" for Marine Corps education and that the pilot will involve "regular curriculum reviews and fleet feedback."
The in-person version of the pilot program will be held at Marine Corps Base Quantico, Camp Lejeune, Camp Pendleton and Okinawa. The online iteration will be run through Fort Worth in Texas.
"Through the SLS, our SNCOs are equipped with the tools to not only lead more effectively but to mentor and guide their Marines through the complexities of today's operational environment," Sgt. Maj. Stephen Griffin, the senior enlisted leader of Training and Education Command, said in the news release. "This program ensures that our [staff noncommissioned officers] are better prepared to lead with confidence, in the field and in multidomain combat scenarios, strengthening the overall effectiveness of the Marine Corps units."
Editor's note: This story was updated with additional information from the Marine Corps' Training and Education Command.
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