Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point, N.C. -- U.S. Marines from all over Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Cherry Point and the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing, volunteered to participate in a Marine Corps Martial Arts Program (MCMAP) course in the hopes of advancing to the next belt at MCAS Cherry Point, North Carolina. The course was held to advance not only the Marines’ hand-to-hand combat skills, but their careers. In accordance with Marine Corps Order 1500.59A, as of Sep. 23, 2019, only Marines ranked corporal or higher are eligible to receive brown belts, the second highest belt in the Marine Corps Martial Arts Program, and any Marine interested in receiving a black belt must be at least a sergeant, according to the Marine Corps. The U.S. Marine Corps created and has been training Marines in a unique martial arts fighting style, known as MCMAP, since 2001. MCMAP is a specialized close combat martial art that was developed to combine hand-to-hand combat, close quarters combat, unarmed combat, weapons of opportunity, and rifle and bayonet techniques.