Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman

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Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
CSM William Gainey
Salary$10,294.80 per month, regardless of the incumbent's service longevity [1]
WebsiteOfficial Website

The senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (SEAC) is the most senior non-commissioned officer (NCO) position overall in the United States Armed Forces. The SEAC is appointed by the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to serve as a spokesperson to address the issues of enlisted personnel to the highest positions in the Department of Defense. As such, the SEAC is the primary enlisted advisor to the chairman, and serves at the pleasure of the secretary of defense. The SEAC's exact duties vary, depending on the chairman, though the SEAC generally devotes much of their time traveling throughout the Department of Defense, to observe training and communicating to service members and their families. The SEAC's normal term of assignment runs concurrently with the chairman, but an incumbent may be reappointed to serve longer.[2] The first member to hold this post was William Gainey (appointed on 1 October 2005). The current SEAC is Troy E. Black, USMC who assumed the duties on 3 November 2023.[2][3]

History

Service senior enlisted advisors

Although

chief of the boat; the services' national headquarters generally had no counterpart position. The Marine Corps was the exception, having a Sergeant Major from 1801 until 1946, and a sergeant major of the Marine Corps from 23 May 1957 onwards, as the senior enlisted advisor to the commandant of the Marine Corps.[4]

The other services followed during the

chief master sergeant of the Space Force was established in 2020. The positions are generically or collectively referred to as "senior enlisted advisors" ("SEAs"). Only one soldier, sailor, Marine, airman, Space Force guardian, or coast guardsman can hold that rank at any one time; moreover, the position's singularity is not deemed to prevent the technical overlap of a few weeks while a recently "retired" SEA remains legally on active duty for the duration of his accrued back-leave, known as "transitional leave"). Each advises his or her service chief (chief of staff of the Army, commandant of the Marine Corps, chief of naval operations, chief of staff of the Air Force, chief of space operations, and commandant of the Coast Guard
) and other senior service leaders on all enlisted matters, makes decisions affecting enlisted personnel and their families, and is often invited to testify before Congress.

Creation and history

The position of senior enlisted advisor to the chairman was created in 2005 under General

Fort Hood, Texas
, from 9 May 2003 until 30 September 2005. He served as senior enlisted advisor to the chairman until he retired on 25 April 2008.

When Admiral Michael Mullen became chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, he consulted the SEAs of the services and opted not to appoint a SEA in his own office.[5] Mullen concluded that the service SEAs were the best suited to address issues by while being among the troops, rather than having one serve on the Joint Staff.[6] The position was reinstated in 2011 by Mullen's successor, General Martin Dempsey.[5]

General Dempsey selected

Sergeant Major Bryan B. Battaglia to serve as the 2nd senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
. He took his post on 1 October 2011. Battaglia had more than 36 years of service at all levels including multiple combat deployments and senior enlisted assignments. He served as senior enlisted advisor to the chairman until 11 December 2015.

General

CSM John W. Troxell to serve as the 3rd senior enlisted advisor to the chairman. Troxell took his post on 11 December 2015, and served until 13 December 2019. By the end of Troxell's term, each service began developing their own insignia for the SEAC, with the Army being the first to establish their version.[7][8]

Roles and responsibilities

The SEAC has oversight in any area that the chairman assigns him. The SEAC is the spokesman of the chairman to all services' SEAs. The SEAC, in some cases, is the spokesman for all enlisted members of the services and

chain of command
of the services' nor combatant commands' SEAs; however, he is in the NCO communication chain. The SEAC is the Chairman's link to and/or from the services' and combatant commands' SEAs. During visits to areas of operation, the SEAC identifies issues and problems that might affect the services as a whole. When a problem is identified, he works with the services to find a common solution and help integrate, if possible, the solution into all of the services. Recently, combatant commands, which are joint duty and contain enlisted members from various services, have created Senior Enlisted Advisor (SEA) positions.

Insignia

Senior Enlisted Advisor left collar brass insignia (Army only)
Senior Enlisted Advisor left collar brass insignia (Army only)
  • Service Rank insignia
  • Army insignia (2019–present)[7]
    Army insignia
    (2019–present)[7]
  • Marine Corps insignia (2020–present)[14]
    Marine Corps insignia
    (2020–present)[14]
  • Navy Insignia (2024–present)[15]
    Navy Insignia
    (2024–present)[15]
  • Air Force insignia (2019–present)[16]
    Air Force insignia
    (2019–present)[16]
  • Space Force insignia (2023–present)[13]
    Space Force insignia
    (2023–present)[13]

Positional color and protocol

Pay grade

The senior enlisted advisor to the chairman and the other seven SEAs holds a special

paygrade above E-9. In accordance with 37 U.S.C. § 1009, Schedule 8, their base pay is $9,355.50 per month ($112,266 per year), regardless of the incumbent's service longevity. For comparison, any other E-9, even with the maximum 40 years of service, would receive $8,988.90 per month.[1]

In addition to

base pay and normal tax-free allowances, the SEAC and the other SEAs are each entitled to a special tax-free allowance of $2,000 per year, in accordance with 37 U.S.C. § 414(b)
.

Chronological list

No. Picture Senior Enlisted Advisor Took office Left office Time in office Branch Chairman
1
CSM
William Gainey
(born 1956)
[a]
1 October 200525 April 20082 years, 207 days
US Army		Peter Pace
Michael Mullen
2
SgtMaj
Bryan B. Battaglia
(born 1961)
1 October 201111 December 20154 years, 71 days
US Marine Corps		Martin Dempsey
3
John W. Troxell
Troxell, JohnJohn W. Troxell
(born 1964)		11 December 201513 December 20194 years, 2 days
US Army		Joseph Dunford
Mark Milley
4
Ramón Colón-López
Colón-López, RamónRamón Colón-López
(born 1971)		13 December 20193 November 20233 years, 325 days
US Air Force		Mark Milley
Charles Q. Brown Jr.
5
Troy E. Black
Black, TroyTroy E. Black
(born c. 1969)		3 November 2023Incumbent160 days
US Marine Corps		Charles Q. Brown Jr.

SEAC Timeline

See also

Notes

  1. ^ The position remained vacant from 25 April 2008 to 1 October 2011.

References

  1. ^ a b "Defense Finance and Accounting Service > MilitaryMembers > payentitlements > Pay Tables > Basic Pay > EM". www.dfas.mil. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  2. ^ a b "Joint Chiefs of Staff > About > The Joint Staff > Senior Enlisted Advisor". Joint Chiefs of Staff. Retrieved 3 February 2021.
  3. ^ Garamone, Jim (7 July 2023). "Milley Names Troy E. Black as Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 8 July 2023.
  4. ^ Marine Corps Legacy Museum.
  5. ^ a b Roulo, Claudette (10 December 2015). "SEAC Reflects on Service, Upcoming Transition". Joint Chiefs of Staff. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  6. ^ Holmes, Christopher D. (14 October 2021). "History of the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff". National Defense University Press. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  7. ^ a b "SEAC Troxell announces new positional rank insignia". Joint Chiefs of Staff. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  8. ^ DOD News (10 December 2019). "Military's Top Enlisted Position Now Has Distinctive Rank Insignia". U.S. Department of Defense. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
  9. ^ AR 670-1, Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia
  10. ^ Myers, Meghann (10 December 2019). "There's a new rank insignia for the military's top enlisted adviser". militarytimes.com. Sightline Media Group. Retrieved 6 July 2021.
  11. ^ Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Public Affairs. "SEAC Troxell announces new positional rank insignia". jcs.mil. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  12. ^ a b DOD NEWS (10 December 2019). "Military's Top Enlisted Position Now Has Distinctive Rank Insignia". defense.gov. Department of Defense. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  13. ^ a b The Joint Team (PDF). United States Air Force. 2022. p. 14. Archived (PDF) from the original on 24 November 2022. Retrieved 24 November 2022.
  14. ^ "Marine Corps Grade Insignia". The Institute of Heraldry. Archived from the original on 13 January 2022. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  15. ^ "4211 - CPO Rate Insignia". www.mynavyhr.navy.mil. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  16. ^ "Air Force Grade Insignia". The Institute of Heraldry. Archived from the original on 11 July 2021. Retrieved 8 July 2021.
  17. ^ "SEAC Heraldry" (PDF). United States Army Institute of Heraldry. 4 November 2005.

Further reading

External links

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