Senior enlisted advisor

The SEAs from each branch at the 2009 Commander in Chief's Ball

A Senior Enlisted Advisor (SEA) in the United States Armed Forces is the most senior enlisted service member in a unit, and acts as an advisor to the commanding officer. Formally, E-9 billets for the senior enlisted advisor are established at Service unit (e.g., battalion, wing, or higher), command, major command, force, or fleet levels to the SEAs/CSELs of DoD Agencies and the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. SEAs are also known as Command Senior Enlisted Leaders (CSEL). Always a non-commissioned officer, the SEA is the main link between the commanding officer and the enlisted service members under his or her charge.

Examples[]

Service senior enlisted advisors
Position insignia	Position	Photo	Incumbent	Service branch	Start date
	Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman		SEAC Ramón Colón-López	U.S. Air Force	December 13, 2019
	Sergeant Major of the Army		SMA Michael A. Grinston	U.S. Army	August 9, 2019
	Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps		SMMC Troy E. Black	U.S. Marine Corps	July 26, 2019
	Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy		MCPON Russell L. Smith	U.S. Navy	August 29, 2018
	Chief Master Sergeant of the Air Force		CMSAF JoAnne S. Bass	U.S. Air Force	August 14, 2020
	Chief Master Sergeant of the Space Force		CMSSF Roger A. Towberman	U.S. Space Force	April 3, 2020
	Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard		MCPOCG Jason M. Vanderhaden	U.S. Coast Guard	May 17, 2018
	Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chief of the National Guard Bureau		SEA Tony L. Whitehead	U.S. Air Force	July 26, 2019
Senior enlisted advisors, Unified Combatant Commands
	United States Africa Command		SgtMaj Richard D. Thresher	U.S. Marine Corps	February 28, 2020
	United States Central Command		FLTCM James Herdel	U.S. Navy
	United States Cyber Command		CSM Sheryl D. Lyon	U.S. Army	September 25, 2020
	United States European Command		CCMS Phillip L. Easton	U.S. Air Force	August 2, 2019
	United States Indo-Pacific Command		CSM Shane W. Shorter	U.S. Army
	United States Northern Command		SgtMaj James K. Porterfield	U.S. Marine Corps	June 29, 2021
	United States Southern Command		CSM Benjamin Jones	U.S. Army	August 17, 2020
	United States Space Command		MGySgt Scott H. Stalker	U.S. Marine Corps
	United States Special Operations Command		CCMS Gregory A. Smith	U.S. Air Force	July 11, 2019
	United States Strategic Command		FLTCM John J. Perryman	U.S. Navy
	United States Transportation Command		FLTCM Donald O. Myrick	U.S. Navy	March 30, 2021

In the United States Army, the SEA for a battalion or larger-sized unit is usually a Command Sergeant Major. For Marine battalions and larger, a Sergeant Major typically takes the role. Navy ships and other commands will usually have a Command, Fleet, or Force Master Chief Petty Officer (known as the Chief of the Boat on a submarine), while an Air Force or Space Force Command Chief Master Sergeant serves at Wing, Delta, Numbered Air Force, Field Operating Agency (FOA), Major Command, Field Command or at "Joint," DoD Agency levels.^{[citation needed]}

In the United States Army and the United States Marine Corps, the senior enlisted advisor at the company or battery level (or other unit at similar echelon) is a First Sergeant. In the Air Force and Space Force, the senior enlisted member of units smaller than those listed above for Command Chief Master Sergeant is either a Chief Master Sergeant or a Senior Master Sergeant and may also include a separate First Sergeant authorization. In the Air Force a First Sergeant can be an E7, E8 or E9, depending on size and mission of the unit, and is a temporary, special duty assignment.^{[citation needed]}

International equivalents[]

Australia[]

In Australia the equivalent positions within the Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Army and Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) are Warrant Officer of the Navy (WO-N), Regimental Sergeant Major-Army (RSM-A) and Warrant Officer of the Air Force (WOFF-AF) respectively.

Canada[]

The Senior Enlisted advisor of the Canadian Forces is the Canadian Forces Chief Warrant Officer. The Army, Navy and Air Force each have their own Chief Warrant Officer acting as Senior Enlisted advisor

NATO[]

NATO also has a number of Senior Enlisted Advisors taken from NATO members for various posts, including Senior Enlisted Advisor - NATO Allied Command Transformation

New Zealand[]

In New Zealand the equivalent positions within the Royal New Zealand Navy (RNZN), New Zealand Army and Royal New Zealand Air Force (RNZAF) are Warrant officer of the Navy (New Zealand) (WON), Sergeant Major-Army (SMA) and Warrant Officer of the Air Force (WOAF) respectively. there is also the Senior position within HQNZDF of the Warrant Officer of the Defence Force (WODF)

South Africa[]

South Africa has a Warrant officer of the Defence Force, as well as Sergeant Majors of the Army, Air Force and Medical Services. The Navy equivalent is the Master at Arms of the Navy

United Kingdom[]

The Royal Navy has the Warrant Officer of the Naval Service, the British Army has the Army Sergeant Major, the Royal Air Force has the Chief of the Air Staff's Warrant Officer and the Royal Marines the Corps Regimental Sergeant Major. In 2018, the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chiefs of Staff Committee was introduced.

Service senior enlisted advisors
Position	Photo	Incumbent	Service branch	Start date
Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chiefs of Staff Committee		Warrant Officer Class One Glenn Haughton OBE	British Army	November 1, 2018
Warrant Officer of the Naval Service		Warrant Officer Class One Carl Steedman	Royal Navy	January 31, 2020
Army Sergeant Major		Warrant Officer Class One Gavin Paton	British Army	November 8, 2018
Chief of the Air Staff's Warrant Officer		Warrant Officer Class One MBE	Royal Air Force	October 2019
Corps Regimental Sergeant Major		Warrant Officer Class One Richard Angove	Royal Marines	July 2020

References[]

• Senior Enlisted Advisor on the Dictionary of Occupational Titles
• Senior Enlisted Advisor on TheFreeDictionary.com