Senior enlisted Marine takes all honors at prestigious Navy school

       One of the most prestigious schools in the Department of Defense recently selected a Marine to receive the title of honor graduate – for the second consecutive time in a year.

       Master Sgt. William Call, the bandmaster for Marine Corps Band New Orleans, achieved the honor upon graduating from the Navy’s Senior Enlisted Academy at the U.S. Naval War College in Newport, Rhode Island, July 24, 2015.  Call was one of three Marines in the class of 62 students who attended the grueling 12-week course.  In addition to being named honor graduate, Call was also named to the Dean’s List by graduating in the top ten percent of the class. He joins just a handful of Marines who achieved the title in the school’s 33-year history. Even more, he was awarded the Surface Navy Association Military Heritage Award, the John A. Power Excellence in Communications Award, and was presented with the Academic Excellence Award by the city of Newport. Overall, the Destin, Florida native achieved the highest academic average for the class. 

       “He is truly a Marine,” said Navy Senior Chief Petty Officer Richard Miller (SW/AW/IDW), Call’s SEA faculty advisor.  “He is very structured, very humble, and the ultimate team player. He definitely impressed me and his peers.”

       Call says his goal was to excel in the class but did not make being the honor graduate a priority. 

       “I truly felt honored to be given the opportunity to attend the course in the first place, but I was also proud to represent the [Marine Corps]  staff noncommissioned officer community amongst our fellow sister services senior enlisted members.” He explained.

       He added that successfully completing the course was not a cake walk.

       “The building blocks of our [Marine Corps] PME are based on warfighting, as it should be. However, the curriculum at the academy is intense and presents students with a higher level educational experience to prepare them for working hand-in-hand with their counterparts in a joint environment. It was totally different than what I’m used to but I feel so invigorated after taking this course,” Call said.

       The mission of the academy, according to its website, further elaborates on Call’s overall explanation of the course: “to further develop senior enlisted leaders to give sound decision-support in command, staff, management, and leadership positions in naval, joint, and multinational environments.”

       The course also provides senior leaders with a better understanding of “national security strategy, joint force operations, and leadership skills with a constant focus on ethics, flexibility, and mission accomplishment in a global environment.”

       One of the highlights of the course, Call opined, was the number of relationships he built with leaders with such high level expertise and from such a wide array of military occupational specialties and backgrounds.

       “These are great Americans and simply great people with whom I had the honor of meeting,” he explained. “I will cherish the relationships I’ve built during the course because not only did they teach me so much about their individual services and the impact of what they do on the total force, but I had the privilege of teaching them about the Marine Corps and how we do business.”  

       Call, who joined the Marine Corps June 3, 1996 out of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, says he has always had great respect for the other services, specifically for the Navy since most of the military schools he attended were with Sailors.  His admiration for the other services, however, extends back to his grandfather and father’s dedicated military service.  His father served in the Air Force for 28 years and his grandfather received a battlefield commission to the rank of second lieutenant in the Army while fighting in France during World War I.

       Call also went on to add that although his paternal role models were influential in his decision to join the Corps, there were several key Marines to whom he attributes his current success as a leader. Retired Sgt. Maj. Gary Buck, the former sergeant major of the Eastern Recruiting Region, and Gunnery Sgt. Gary Beamon, Call’s first enlisted band leader from 1997, both instilled three essential leadership traits that have shaped him into the Marine he is today – consistency, reliability, and empathy. 

       “The reason I am the man and the leader I am today is because I had these outstanding Marines to look up to and mold me.” He stated.  “From the first time I met both of them, they have each showed me what it takes to lead Marines, to be a great leader of people. That is something that I realized the Navy Senior Enlisted Academy offered; the people-focused communication and leadership values.”

       Call highly encourages other Marines to pursue the opportunity to attend the course. However, with only four allocations available per course, the selection and approval process is very competitive, lengthy and rigorous but is designed to select only the cream of the crop to represent the Corps at the prestigious school.  According to Marine Administrative Message 420/14, upon selection to attend the academy, students are required to complete an 8-week distance learning phase followed by a 3-week resident phase.  More information can also be found in Marine Corps Order P1553.4B, titled Professional Military Education.

       As Call prepares to transfer to his next duty station to the Naval School of Music, he feels grateful for the opportunity to have received such a quality education from the academy staff which he says will help him in his new assignment.