New Sgt Major Insignia for Everybody

Editorial by Dan Elder about changing Sergeants Major Rank Insignia

Proposed rank titles for sergeant major, a modified insignia for the SMA, and the addition of nominative sergeant major insignia. By Daniel K. Elder

In case you missed the news, A noteworthy change happened to the enlisted stripes of the Army recently when CSM John Raines took over the position of the SEA for the NGBC. It was a well-deserved honor that wasn’t historical since he was the seventh servicemember to serve in that position. What was significant was that he was the first enlisted Army member since the approval of separate and distinct rank insignia for the position, and he became the first soldier to wear these new stripes, adding another rank insignia to our collection. This was an earned selection for a citizen soldier of distinction.

The left sleeve of SEA NGBC John Raines with the new insignia was on display on Nov. 8, 2024, when he assumed his role as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the National Guard Bureau Chief.

With the position came stripes quite like our Army sergeant major, sandwiched between three chevrons and arcs, the symbol of the National Guard, a distinct eagle surrounded by two stars. The 2008 National Defense Authorization Act elevated the chief of the National Guard Bureau to the four-star rank of general and made the NGB Chief the 7^th member of the Joint Chiefs. It made sense that the senior enlisted advisor should be on par with other service chiefs, hence the new rank for the senior enlisted advisor. These are rotating assignments that trade between members of either the Army National Guard or the Air National Guard.

However, this new rank places the Sergeant Major of the Army, the senior enlisted soldier of THE Army, off-kilter, now having another soldier at the same rank as the SMA at the same position. Back when I made the recommendation for the rank of the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (SEAC) to include four stars surrounded by an eagle, I skipped three stars because the Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) wears three stars, that it made sense the SEAC has four stars. The Chairman is the senior officer of the services, which follows suit, as the SEAC is the senior enlisted soldier. The SMA and SEA NGBC are peers, but age-wise, the Army is the senior service. Of course, the militia predates the Continental Army, but that is picking nits as the Republic didn’t exist then. So, what about it?

Add another Star to the SMA Rank

So now, this is a time that we place the rank of the SMA on par with the sea service and add a third star above the eagle, representing the SMA again as the highest enlisted soldier in the Army. And with a rank insignia on par with the Navy MCPON. And while we are shuffling ranks around, it’s time we recognize the 20-odd different levels of position, authority, and experience across the E-9 cohort and significantly add some insignia of distinction to nominative sergeants. I also recommend the addition of two new ranks, one for the major of nominative sergeants and another for sergeants majoring in command who serve at a general officer level. Now, we are cooking a new SMA rank, a unique insignia for sergeants major serving in general officer staff assignments, and a nominative sergeants major insignia for senior enlisted advisors to a commanding general. Can I get a hooah?

While this is underway, it is a great time to drop the confusing language of the command sergeant major and get back to the original intent of the command sergeant major program, which is to identify the sergeant major of the command. I wrote about the CSM naming convention, the first SMA, and his comments about creating the program. Not too long after, while reading an oral interview of the second Sergeant Major of the Army, he only spoke of “sergeants major of the command.” It is clear from some of the early thoughts on CSMs that the title has been a bit misleading, and my view is it causes more hassle than it is worth since words matter.

And though my points today talk about E-9 sergeant major, I only use that because my recommendations to warrant nominative sergeants major has yet to gain traction. I still believe that we owe senior E-9 NCOs a lasting pay increase at the 8C/8S level and should have the SecArmy warrant them beginning at W-3 for 1-2 star level Sgts. Maj; W-4 for 3–4-star Sgts. Maj; and W-5 for SEA- NGBC, SMA, and SEAC. But that is another ball of worms when you involve joint forces. I stand fast because we should offer pay increases that last into retirement for our top-tier NCO corps.

A sergeant major at battalion and brigade should be called just that, and the same at division and corps. Most division CSMs are labeled DCSM in routine correspondence, so it's not far-fetched to ID the BnCSM and BdCSM; likewise, they are all called sergeant majors. It’s in the naming, writing, and identification where the extra labels come in handy, knowing who is who in the zoo.

This is another recommendation that will rub many the wrong way, but it makes sense when you stand back and look at it objectively. If badge, insignia, and tab bloat are happening across the service in the name of transformation in contact, this change is just in time. Let's get back to calling a sergeant a sergeant and recognizing the increasing roles and responsibilities of the senior enlisted cohort.

CSM (Ret.) Daniel K. Elder

/topsarge

Dan is a retired command sergeant major and currently the Institute for Advanced NCO Leadership (IamNCO) Chair, an independent think tank developed to conduct rigorous research, expert analysis, and offer policy recommendations for enlisted leader development. The opinions expressed in this op-ed are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of IamNCO. If you want to submit your commentary, please send your article to voice@iamnco.org for consideration.