Cpl. Joshua Brooks, a Petoskey, Mich., native and machine

Cpl. Joshua Brooks, a Petoskey, Mich., native and machine gun section leader with Charlie Company, Battalion Landing Team 1st Battalion, 2nd Marine Regiment, 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, receives his diploma during a Corporal's Course graduation ceremony aboard the USS Gunston Hall in the Gulf of Aden, Sept. 22, 2012. Brooks was the honor graduate of the course, which took place both ashore in Kuwait and aboard the ship. The 24th MEU is deployed with the Iwo Jima Amphibious Ready Group as a theater reserve force for U.S. Central Command and is providing support for maritime security operations and theater security cooperation efforts in the U.S. Navy's 5th Fleet area of responsibility.