Top Marine selected to be the next senior enlisted adviser to Joint Chiefs chairman

The Marine Corps’ current sergeant major has been selected to be the next senior enlisted adviser to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Pentagon officials said Friday.

Sgt. Major Troy Black will replace Ramon Colon-Lopez in the post, known as SEAC. It is the highest enlisted rank in the U.S. military and serves as the Joint Chiefs chairman’s direct connection to the enlisted force.

Sgt. Major Black has been sergeant major of the Marine Corps since 2019. He is scheduled to begin his new assignment on Nov. 3, which will coincide with current SEAC Colon-Lopez’s retirement from the U.S. Air Force.

Sgt. Major Black went through Marine Corps recruit training in April 1988 as a machine gunner. He has deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan several times over his career. 

SEAC Colon-Lopez is a former Air Force pararescueman who spent much of his career in classified special operations assignments.