The Keystone Course will educate Command Senior Enlisted Leaders (CSELs) currently serving in or slated to serve in a general or flag officer level joint headquarters or Service headquarters that could be assigned as a joint task force.  CSELs will get an opportunity to visit, receive briefings, interact, and become thoroughly familiar with operations at the National Defense University, JOM in Norfolk, and possibly JIATF-S, SOCOM, CENTCOM, and NORTHCOM.

 

Keystone will parallel the Capstone course for newly selected General and Flag officers in that the learning will be focused on “those that do”.  The course will visit the Combatant Commands, Joint Task Forces and senior leadership (both officer and enlisted) in the Washington arena to explore the relationships and challenges of operating in a joint environment.  Specifically, the course will cover the very special relationship between the Command Senior Enlisted Leader of a Joint Force Commander and the enlisted personnel from all the services operating under the Commander.

 

An integral part of the course will be the four-day Joint Operations Module conducted by JFCOM at the Joint War Fighting Center in Suffolk Virginia.  This course also parallels the Capstone JOM but is tailored for the specific challenges of the Enlisted Leader.  The Keystone JOM has been conducted twice as a stand-alone event.

 

The students will be E-9 enlisted leaders whose assignments will place them in a position to have influence and responsibility for multiple Service personnel.  The class will consist of 40 Senior Enlisted Leaders and be conducted twice per year in conjunction with a Capstone class and alternating with the Pinnacle 3-star Joint Force Commander course.  It is anticipated that the class will be approximately 15 days in length with considerable CONUS based travel.