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Sergeants School Seminar Program

College of Distance Education and Training

The Sergeants School Seminar Program (SSSP) curriculum is parallel to the resident Sergeants School curriculum with the same program outcomes—to prepare Marine sergeants to serve as:

Sound decision makers - educated in diverse decision-making processes which promote and support organizational values and leadership philosophies within the profession of arms and who possess the communication skills necessary to guide subordinates in personal and professional development.
Professional warfighters - educated in the nature and theory of war, who comprehend the warfighting functions and their impact on operations and can articulate the roles and functions of other services as they are organized within the Combatant Command structure.
Ethical leaders - educated in the philosophies of Marine Corps leadership, the doctrinal publications which establish the basis for organizational values and ethics, who recognize how personal actions influence processes and stimulate change in the behavior and attitudes of subordinates.

Lessons

Lesson 1, Seminar Introduction

This lesson introduces the 15-week schedule, how the seminar sessions are conducted, how to prepare for Socratic discussions, best practice study habits, how students are assessed, the expectations of the instructor, and the weekly battle rhythm. The lesson required readings about Socratic dialogue, writing reflection journal entries, academic integrity, and keeping notes while reading. Students receive a demonstration on how to navigate within Moodle, which is the Learning Management System used for the seminar program. Students will conduct a Socratic dialogue on the issue for consideration.
Lesson 2, Developing a Bias for Action

This lesson discusses how sergeants represent the strength of the U.S. Marine Corps. Since the founding in the American Revolution, and the ensuing operations around the globe, Marine Corps NCOs have exhibited the sturdy leadership, calm professionalism, strong self-discipline, and inspiring courage that make the legacy one of a first-class organization. The continuation of warfighting excellence rides heavily on the success of sergeants, imbuing their units with the Corps' measure of honor, courage, and commitment. Furthermore, sergeants remain the sentinel of the unit, never allowing their subordinates to be caught unprepared for any task. By their every action, sergeants must set an unrelenting example of loyalty to Corps values, especially in the most difficult circumstances. Regardless of MOS, sergeants are expected to make rapid, well-reasoned, independent decisions and take action that supports their commander's intent while facing a bewildering array of challenges and threats.
Lesson 3, Professional Communications

Interpersonal communication skills are the cement that bonds conversations, relationships, and organizations together. The ability to communicate effectively is critical to personal growth and success. Leaders should have excellent oral communication skills to effectively inform their Marines and persuade their peers and seniors. One of the most common types of oral presentations is an informational brief or a training session with their Marines. This lesson provides the tools necessary to plan, prepare, and deliver an oral presentation. Ultimately, this lesson will provide leaders with an understanding of the basic skills necessary to communicate effectively.
Lesson 4, Written Communications

The Written Communications lesson provides students with an understanding of basic writing skills, such as writing a thesis statement for an essay that responds to a prompt. The lesson covers the basic steps of the writing process and the ECDEP Essay guidelines. In this lesson, student groups will collaborate to develop a thesis statement.
Lesson 5, Performance Evaluation System

Sergeants should understand the Performance Evaluation System to recognize how their performance is evaluated by reporting officials. The lesson will discuss the responsibilities of the evaluated Marine and reporting officials. To enhance personal career progression, this lesson describes how to interpret reporting senior and reviewing officer fitness report marks on the master brief sheet, as well as what makes a fitness report adverse. The lesson will examine how to prepare for selection boards and how to determine what Junior Enlisted Performance Evaluation System command input marks to recommend for subordinates.
Lesson 6, Leadership Development Tools

Every Marine possesses an innate drive to prepare their subordinate leaders to succeed and excel in all that they do. When facing an uncertain future, it is difficult for leaders to consider the developmental needs of their subordinate leaders. Essential to this responsibility is providing a credible personal example of seeking self-improvement for subordinate leaders to emulate. Leaders are accountable for taking advantage of all resources and opportunities, available and necessary, for developing subordinates in areas of professional competence and character. Critical to developing subordinate leaders is an understanding of how leadership skills and knowledge are learned and developed. During this lesson, students will become familiar with developmental activities and the importance of what feedback should do to bring out the best in their Marines. The lesson discusses the techniques for effective coaching and counseling.
Lesson 7, Military Leadership Foundations

The foundational elements of leadership are intrinsic to character. They are those intangible qualities that speak to others and compel them to follow Corps ideals and examples. Everyone lives according to their value system; this motivates their thinking and influences how they act. Therefore, to inspire the actions of others they must find value in their leaders and their mission. The spirit of this profession is born into the hearts of men and women drawn to the Corps by a common desire to serve. It is a sense of duty born from ideals like patriotism, valor, and fidelity. As it is said, there is nothing new under the sun and the Corps is no different. The secret to its success (in a warrior culture) lies within the Corps’ leadership foundations, which are as ancient as civilization itself. During this lesson, students will discuss how the leadership foundations apply to the profession of arms; how leadership traits and principles affect subordinates, peers, and seniors; and how the warrior spirit (ethos) is instilled among Marines today.
Lesson 8, Leadership Responsibility

Although our Corps has its share of heroic figures, in the minds of the American people, that fame is collective. While most Americans may easily conjure the name of a famous soldier or sailor, they draw a blank when tasked with recalling a famous Marine. Yet, the word Marine is synonymous with the highest standards of honor, courage, and commitment to our Nation. Every Marine must maintain that prestigious image that those before earned through their discipline and valor. When an individual fails to uphold those values and ignores the foundations of leadership, disaster is not far away. Trust, being the indelible aspect of leadership that propels others to follow leaders in the profession of arms, is hard won and easily lost today. For this reason, the words emblazoned on the promotion warrant, “with special trust and confidence,” are reminders of the important role leaders play in this institution. It is no longer a choice at this level of leadership; individuals set the example in everything they do and speak. The only choice is to set a positive or negative example. Do not take lightly this responsibility. While death may not be the result, the life of others and the institution is surely affected by individual actions and decisions. During this lesson, students will discuss the aspects of institutional and organizational roles and responsibilities. The lesson discusses the outcomes of hazing, sexual assault, and fraternization on institutional and organizational effectiveness.
Lesson 9, Leadership Strategies

In the forming stages of team building, it is often easy to get tasks accomplished since team members are still assuming formal roles while getting to know each other and their responsibilities. Once the team enters the storming stage, the leader is confronted with personality issues that can make or break a good team. Success in the workplace is inextricably linked to collaboration with others. As a leader, one of the most valuable things that can be learned is to look with understanding into another person, find what motivates them, and guide them to happiness through their own success. This understanding goes beyond name, rank, date of birth, home of record, and marital status. To look out for another person’s welfare, a leader must know their subordinate’s personality. What motivates them? What do they value most? How do they learn best? What are their strengths and weaknesses? A leader who masterfully understands their team members in this manner can establish an environment that supports organizational or group values while at the same time fostering individual morale. Keep in mind that a Marine stripped of their dignity, individuality, and self-respect is destined for mediocrity and is a potential “problem.” However, a high state of morale and esprit, in turn, enhances unit cohesion and combat effectiveness. During this lesson, students will discuss motivations and how a person’s temperament plays into their personal and professional relations. The lesson discusses how individual morale applies to horizontal and vertical cohesion.
Lesson 10, Developing Resiliency

To win this Nation’s battles in austere environments, the Marine Corps demands a proactive approach to developing and maintaining the mind, body, and spirit of every Marine. It is an indisputable fact that every warrior culture has, as its underlying heartbeat, a resilient spirit. To maintain a ready and capable force now, and into the future, there must be a plan to develop Marines' individual resilience focusing on the mind, body, and spirit. Leaders should gain a holistic understanding of developing the critical elements of resiliency in their Marines. Additionally, leaders should develop their knowledge, skills, and abilities required to manage and maintain resilient Marines. During this lesson, students will become familiar with developmental activities and the importance of a resilient mind, body, and spirit.
Lesson 11, Warfighting

This foundational lesson is the first of the four warfighting lessons in the program. This lesson examines concepts important to warfighting, the nature and theory of war, and considers the relevance of these concepts as they pertain to all Marines, not just infantry. In this lesson, students analyze how the Marine Corps integrates these concepts into our leadership and decision-making. During this lesson, students will discuss the impact of friction, disorder, speed, surprise, boldness, three levels of war, and the characteristics of maneuver warfare.
Lesson 12, Troop Leading Steps

Success in combat is reflective of a leader’s ability to make tactically sound decisions in a time-constrained and ever-changing environment. The decision-making process can be very complicated for a leader without the right tools. The right tools represent formats that are broad enough to assess options and make and communicate effective decisions. The troop leading steps are a tool used to aid leaders in making tactically sound decisions, formulating plans, coherently communicating those plans, and turning those decisions into action. The acronym BAMCIS is the recognized format for the troop leading steps used throughout the Marine Corps. Each unit and its Marines rely on its leader’s skills to analyze complex information and make critical, ethical, and tactically-sound decisions in chaotic and uncertain situations. The troop leading steps are used at all levels of command by Marines to accomplish a mission regardless of MOS or the type of unit tasked to accomplish a mission. This lesson will address the troop leading steps as they apply to a small unit leader. During this lesson, students will discuss the use of the troop leading steps and the tactical thought process and how they factor in the development of plans and orders. Given a scenario, student groups will collaborate to complete a METT-T Analysis worksheet.
Lesson 13, Estimate of the Situation

During the Troop Leading Steps (TLS) lesson, individuals were educated on how to use some of the various tools needed to assess difficult situations presented to them and their Marines, as well as how to weigh some of those options to make and communicate clear and confident decisions. In this lesson, students will continue to hone those skills learned during Troop Leading Steps by applying their understanding of the tools given to them to make those decisions. As a sergeant, each individual should be able to comprehend warfighting concepts and act decisively on them. As a squad leader or small unit leader, they must understand the nature and theory of war as it will be evident in their planning, preparation, communication, and execution of the mission regardless of their MOS or the type of unit tasked to accomplish the mission. Their unit and their Marines rely on their skills to analyze complex information and make critical, ethical, and tactically sound decisions in chaotic and uncertain situations. During this lesson, students will discuss types of orders and the role they play. Whereas during Troop Leading Steps students worked in groups to collaborate on a METT-T Analysis worksheet, in this lesson, students are given a FRAGO and complete the worksheet on their own.
Lesson 14, Naval Expeditionary Operations

This lesson examines Marine Corps doctrine for the conduct of military operations in an expeditionary environment. The defining characteristic of expeditionary operations is the projection of force into a foreign setting. The Marine Corps is valued as a highly cost-effective military option in a wide range of situations where versatility and adaptability are critical for success. In his Commandant’s Planning Guidance, General Berger clarifies that “The Marine Corps has been and remains the Nation’s premier naval expeditionary force-in-readiness.” While Marines stand by to perform “such other duties as the President may direct,” foreign humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, and noncombatant evacuations do not define them – they are not our identity. Rather, they are the day-to-day consequence of being the force-in-readiness. During this lesson, students will discuss the Marine Corps' strategic concept and priorities for expeditionary operations and how the structure of the MAGTF support expeditionary operations.
Lesson 15, Role of the SNCO

The goal of Marine Corps leadership is to develop the leadership qualities of all Marines to enable them to assume progressively greater responsibilities to the Marine Corps and society. As a Marine Non-commissioned Officer (NCO), individuals hold a special position in the Marine Corps. They represent the institutional values of this prestigious warfighting organization and are responsible for the lives of the Marines placed in their charge. Their ability to do both determines our the success both on and off the battlefield. The lesson explores what makes NCOs the “backbone” of the Marine Corps. Students will discuss their roles within the United States Marine Corps and connect them to the 14 leadership traits and 11 leadership principles. Students will discuss their institutional and organizational roles as they transition to the staff non-commissioned officer ranks including their relationship as trusted advisors to junior officers and the impacts of this responsibility.

Eligibility and Enrollment

The Sergeants School Seminar Program is available to sergeants who have completed the Sergeants School DEP on MarineNet (EPME5000BA). SSSP (or the resident Sergeants School course) is a PME requirement for promotion from sergeant to staff sergeant. Read about the enrollment process.

Schedules

All students will be assigned an instructor and will attend the seminar at a specified location. SSSP consists of a 15-week program, students meeting one night per week or one weekend per month. The following are SSSP course schedules for each schedule type. Schedules for individual seminars are provided by region.

MARADMIN 191/22, Academic Year 2023 Class Dates for the Enlisted College Distance Education Seminar Programs, announces the AY23 class dates and course prerequisites for the Sergeants School Seminar Program.

Completion Benefits

Higher Education

The American Council on Education (ACE) recommends three (3) lower-division bachelor's degree credits in Leadership.

Resources

Read about the Moodle learning management system or log into the MarineNet Moodle portal.

Several external resources are available to assist in your research or school work.

Transcripts can be obtained via MarineNet.