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Marines Training With Swords
Marine Corps News | December 05, 2007
AL TAQADDUM, Iraq -- To hone their skills and develop themselves for superior performance in a combat zone, a group of Marines have gathered on a dry, sandy field in Iraq to train…with swords.
This is Corporal’s Course, a two-week period of instruction that, despite the accessories, isn’t so much about running the enemy through with a yard of steel as it is about learning the essentials of leadership in the Marine Corps.
To teach those principles, 2nd Supply Battalion, 2nd Marine Logistics Group (Forward), is conducting its third course of this kind since arriving here in August, prompting other battalions to follow suit in an effort to prepare the Corps’ junior leaders for the future.
“Whether or not you’re a leader of Marines, don’t we all aspire to lead somewhere? Maybe as a head of household or as a leader out in the corporate world,” said 1st Sgt. Lora Christoff, the battalion’s Maintenance Company first sergeant. “(This course) gives you the confidence you need to get in front of people and make decisions to effectively employ whomever it is you’re leading, whether it be Marines, sailors, airmen or civilians.
“In order to go to the workplace and employ your co-workers, you have to be confident in your ability,” she added. “And in order to be confident in your ability, you have to have been tried and tested.”
Throughout the course, the Marines not only reinforce the basics of drill and Marine Corps history, but also delve deeper into the realm of leadership traits and techniques. Additionally, they stress the importance of physical fitness and test the students on every aspect of the curriculum.
Each of the battalion’s first two classes had a respectable 33 participants. The current class is the largest to date and isn’t exclusive to corporals, or even Marines.
Two senior airmen in the Air Force and a Navy petty officer third class in attendance plan to apply what they learn to their own branch of service.
“I heard this would be a bit of a challenge for an airman,” said Senior Airman Daniel Levindofske, a hazardous material inspector with 332nd Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron. “For the first two hours, it was silence. You could hear crickets, everybody was looking at us. Now everybody’s joking around like we’ve been in the same school since way back in the day.”
Levindofske, a Topeka, Kan., native, started working with Marines when he began his deployment in August. He also served on a prior tour, working with the Army in Kirkuk, Iraq. He has since taken an interest in learning about other branches and said the course will prepare him for the Air Force’s six-week Senior Airmen Leadership School he will attend in the near future.
Christoff wants to help him do this. As the course director, she hand-picked the instructors from her own company whom she thought could best teach subjects such as Marine Corps history, customs and courtesies, battle skills, marching and sword manual. Although Christoff believes the fundamentals of leadership are universal, she did note that the course is centered around a Marine Corps approach.
“If they come to our course, they’re evaluated just like the Marine corporals are,” said Christoff, a Youngstown, Ohio, native. “They’re coming here and they’re going to learn everything the Marines learn and they’re going to be evaluated accordingly.”
Those participating in the course must first ensure it doesn’t interfere with their usual duties. This includes instructors and students.
One of two former drill instructors teaching the current class, Gunnery Sgt. Arnold Wells, is offering his experience for the drill portion of the 111-hour course, reducing his time as a motor transportation maintenance chief. Despite the busy schedule, he doesn’t seem to mind the extra job.
“This is something that we’re real passionate about. I still march myself around in the chow hall and around the motor pool,” Wells said laughingly. “I just do it for the heck of it just so I don’t get rusty.”
Wells, a Lexington, Ky., native, said the course prompts memories of the drill field. The current class even has one of his old recruits. But he said the excitement of thinking he may be teaching a future first sergeant serves as another reminder of the importance of what he is imparting.
Christoff said the course’s lessons will be most beneficial while students are still in the Corps, but graduates will also carry what they learn with them wherever they go.
“This is just the introductory phase for these young leaders and this is just the beginning of much more schooling throughout their career,” said Christoff. “We send back a better product to the unit, a much more effective leader.”
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