By MC2 Tom Tonthat

The 76th graduating class of the Naval War College (NWC) Monterey partnership with NPS for Joint Professional Military Education (JPME) stands for a group portrait on the steps of Herrmann Hall.

NWC Monterey chairman Fred Drake and NWC faculty member Dr. Michael Jones presided over the summer quarter ceremony as 48 U.S. Navy, Marine Corps and Army officers who earned their Command and Staff diploma with JPME Phase I certification.

“I hope you learned a lot from NWC and I hope you realize that it’s just the beginning of this aspect of your education,” said Jones. “I hope you had a fantastic time in Monterey. I just want to say congratulations.”

More than 5,000 officers have earned JPME Phase I certification since the NWC program’s inception in September 1999. Drake reminded the officers that graduation is a milestone of both achievement and reflection.

“You’ve passed a milestone but you haven’t finished your journey,” said Drake. “Your journey will not be easy and there will be challenges. But from what we’ve seen so far, you’ll meet and conquer those challenges with vigor, energy and innovation ... some of the same attributes you’ve used to achieve your current success.”