JOINT BASE MCGUIRE-DIX-LAKEHURST, N.J. –
The Leading Edge course was held at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst, New Jersey, April 8-12, 2024.
Offered twice a year, Leading Edge is a one-of-a-kind joint operations-focused course sponsored by the JB MDL Top 3 committee and is open to service members in ranks E-4 to E-6 from all military branches.
Up to 20 service members come together for a week-long course, provided in both classroom and experientials, to learn what the other branches have to offer in a joint-military environment. The week concludes with members using the knowledge they’ve gained throughout the course to provide a war planning presentation to a panel of senior enlisted leaders and peers.
“As the (Department of Defense’s) only tri-service installation, we have a unique opportunity that most bases do not have,” said U.S. Air Force Master Sgt. Brent Hicks, 87th Force Support Squadron Airman Leadership School commandant. “We have U.S. Marine Air Group 49 and U.S. Coast Guard Atlantic Strike Team as tenants, which provides five services on one installation. These circumstances provide a gateway to many personnel who can speak on a variety of branches and topics.”
Classroom instruction included lessons on near-peer adversaries, combatant commands, the National Defense Strategy, National Security System, a U.S. Marine Corps mission brief and a U.S. Space Force capabilities brief. The course also hosted a joint panel comprised of U.S. Navy, U.S. Army and U.S. Air Force senior non-commissioned officers who have worked in joint environments.
Outside of classroom instruction, service members got to spend time on the U.S. Army Support Activity grenade range and participate in a U.S. Marine Corps Combat Fitness Test. Additionally, the group toured the 305th Air Mobility Wing’s KC-46A Pegasus refueling aircraft, the Atlantic Strike Team facility and U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division Lakehurst.
Some of the most beneficial take-aways from the course, according to service members, was getting a better grasp of what all the other branches offer to the DoD.
“Being stuck up in the tower, it’s definitely interesting to go around the base to see the different jobs that make this giant machine work,” said U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Gage Daugherty, 305th Operational Support Squadron tower watch supervisor. “To talk to the Navy, Army, Coast Guard….to see all of their missions and how they are all based here is honestly pretty cool.”
Other service members found that learning leadership skills from the different services was their greatest take-away from Leading Edge.
“I’d say my biggest take-away is learning different types of leadership from the E-8s and E-9s who spoke to us on the first day,” said U.S. Navy Petty Officer 3rd Class Nolan Kelly, an aviation maintenance administrationman with the Fleet Logistics Support Squadron 64. “To see how every military branch leads – that’s what we really came here to do – learn how to be a better leader.”
The next Leading Edge course will be held in September 2024.