By Cpl. Sha’ ahn Williams Students from the Expeditionary Warfare School land on Anzio Beach in Norfolk as part of the ExpeditionaryOperations portion of the 10-monthlong school Jan. 17.

The visit included a tour of the USS Wasp (LHD 1), the lead ship of an all-new class of multipurpose amphibious assault ships, and other amphibious assault craft, to introduce students to the actual ships and craft that support and enable amphibious forces.

EWS is designed for company grade officers and prepares them to function as commanders with an emphasis on combined arms operations, warfighting skills, tactical decision-making, and Marine Air-Ground Task Forces.

Although the school has been educating students since 1921, learning the skills taught at the schoolhouse is more critical than ever, as Gen. James T. Conway, commandant of the Marine Corps, has expressed his desire to redirect the Corps back to its maritime heritage.

In October 2007, at the International Seapower Symposium in Newport, R.I., ‘‘A Cooperative Strategy for 21st Century Seapower” was presented by the chief of naval operations and the commandants of the Marine Corps and Coast Guard. In the maritime statement, the services’ top brass agreed for the first time in history to unite forces, creating a unified strategy that integrated seapower with other elements to be applied around the world to protect the American way of life and boost security.

In his guidance plan set forth when he became commandant at the end of 2006, Conway said the next generation of warriors needed to be prepared for the Long War. This includes refamiliarizing Marines with their Navy brothers and updating amphibious assault capabilities.

Today, most Marines have only been on a naval vessel for transport to and from deployment destinations but do not know much about ship operations. Others haven’t been on a ship at all.

‘‘About 70 percent of the officers who come through EWS have never been on a ship, which was unheard of years past,” said Maj. David Everly, Marine Corps University faculty advisor and Expeditionary Operations instructor. ‘‘So keeping in line with the commandant’s intent and the intent of Col. Joseph Osterman, the director of EWS, we are continuing to teach what these men and women should know about naval competencies. This trip to the USS Wasp (LHD 1) reinforces the skills taught in the first two courses, which helps those learners who are more ‘hands on’,” he added.

During their time aboard the USS WASP (LHD 1), the officers, which included international services and Army and Air Force troops, learned the Navy-Marine Corps team’s newest amphibious warship has as its primary mission the support of a Marine Landing Force. USS WASP and her sister ships are the first specifically designed to accommodate new Landing Craft, Air Cushions (LCACs) for fast troop movement over the beach and AV-8B Vertical⁄Short Take-Off and landing jets which provide close-in air support for the assault force. LHD-1, which is 844 feet long with a beam of 106 feet, also accommodates the full range of Navy and Marine Corps helicopters, conventional landing craft, and amphibious vehicles. In a sense, the ship is like a floating city, equipped with medical facilities and well-stocked galley.

Onboard recreational facilities include a state-of-the-art Library Multi-Media Resource Center with Internet access, a weight room, arcade machines and satellite television capabilities.

Expressions on the visitors’ faces showed that many of them were in awe at the size of the craft and what it had to offer, but some of the more seasoned Marines used the trip as a time to reminisce about time spent aboard a Navy vessel in the past.

Major spaces aboard the ship were toured, and included the Welldeck, troop berthing, flightdeck and flightdeck control and the hangar.

The next stop was Naval Amphibious Base Little Creek, Va. There, the class got treated to a laser, light and video show, demonstrating how an amphibious assault is conducted. Then, the captains hit the base’s Anzio Beach to board the LCAC and Landing Craft Utility. Many of the Marines disembarked the crafts with shouts of, ‘‘The Marines have landed!”

‘‘If there is any one thing I would want these students to take away from the trip, it is for them to leave with an appreciation for the capabilities that the amphibious force represents,” said Cmdr. George Matthesen, one of the chief Expeditionary Operations instructors at EWS.

‘‘Just think about it. We can take any number of Marines up to brigade level, and land them for 30 days and have them fight without any outside support. That’s something no one else in the world can do. But it’s not easy.

‘‘We at EWS are maintaining a critical skill set that would otherwise be lost,” he concluded.

Osterman echoed Matthesen’s sentiments and stressed the need for the Navy and Marines Corps to work more closely together is important for a more well rounded Marine, who can execute the Corps’ core mission.

‘‘We view this focus on expeditionary operations as essential because these captains will be the future leaders executing this new Long War concept,” Osterman said. ‘‘As our commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan decrease, we will get back to our core mission as Marines.”

If all goes as planned, the EWS Marines may become the forerunners to lead the commandant’s push to remold Leathernecks into millennium soldiers of the sea. Marines that know how to maintain a fight from the sea, becoming familiar once again with the anchor in the Eagle, Globe and Anchor they proudly wear everyday.