Military’s New Top Enlisted Member With New Insignia: SEAC Ramon “CZ” Colon-Lopez

Joint Chiefs Chairman Welcomes Military’s New Top Enlisted Member

DEC. 13, 2019 | BY DAVID VERGUN  , DOD

Responsibility as the U.S. military’s top enlisted service member changed hands at a ceremony hosted by Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Army Gen. Mark A. Milley at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall in Virginia.

Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff John Wayne Troxell retired at the ceremony, turning the position over to Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Ramon “CZ” Colon-Lopez.

In swearing in the new SEAC, Milley emphasized that the oath of office is sacred, noting the United States is the only nation that takes an oath to an idea. “It’s an idea embedded in a piece of paper called the Constitution,” he said.

Members of the military swear an oath to, if necessary, “die or suffer grievous wounds for this idea, to separate from our families and sacrifice for this idea,” he said. “It’s a very powerful idea.”

Milley said a number of nations have emulated the idea over the last two centuries and that it’s an idea America’s enemies fear. 

This idea, he said, is that gender, race, ethnicity, religion, income level and sexual preference do not matter.

“The idea says that under these colors of red, white and blue, every single one of us is an American,” the chairman said. “And every one of us is born free and equal.” People will rise based on their knowledge, skills, attributes and talents, and they will be judged by the content of their character, the general added. 

Colon-Lopez is now the fourth SEAC.

Following the oath of office ceremony that completed the transition of responsibility from Troxell to Colon-Lopez, retired Army Gen. Curtis M. Scapparrotti presented the Defense Superior Service Medal to Troxell for, among other things, “providing trusted and insightful guidance to the chairman on a vast array of complex military initiatives and long-term personnel issues.” Troxell was Scaparrotti’s senior enlisted leader at U.S. Forces Korea when he was selected for the SEAC position.

Scaparrotti also presented Troxell with the Presidential Certificate of Achievement and the Certificate of Retirement. He  presented Troxell’s wife, Sandra, with the DOD Distinguished Public Service Award for her volunteer work with service members and their families and an advocate for quality-of-life issues.

The senior enlisted advisor to the chairman, known in the military as ”SEAC,” serves as the principal advisor to the chairman on matters pertaining to the enlisted joint force. The unique insignia identifies the position, its duties and responsibilities.

The position was created Oct. 1, 2005, and a positional flag was created the following month but the SEAC position has had no specific rank insignia such as those worn by the most senior enlisted leaders of the services. The establishment of a unique rank insignia for the SEAC is a key step in recognizing and solidifying the importance of the top enlisted leader’s role for the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the Defense Department, officials said.

The new SEAC chevron, which Troxell wore at the news conference, is similar to the unique insignia worn by sergeant major of the Army, sergeant major of the Marine Corps, chief master sergeant of the Air Force, master chief petty officer of the Navy and master chief petty officer of the Coast Guard.

”This historic step gives this position irreversible momentum,” Troxell said.

The designs were developed by the Institute of Heraldry, with input from all the services. The Army and Air Force designs were given priority in advance of the Dec. 13 change of responsibility ceremony for the senior enlisted advisor to the chairman, when Troxell will turn over responsibility to Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Ramon ”CZ” Colon-Lopez.

The SEAC insignia is unique in two ways, officials noted: 

• It uses the DOD eagle as the major design element, which represents that the position serves the DOD and Joint Chiefs of Staff.
• It is the only senior enlisted advisor chevron that has a four-star pattern incorporated into the design. The four stars represent the unique insignia of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs. In comparison, the services’ senior enlisted advisor chevrons have service-unique symbolism with two stars.

The Institute of Heraldry provides military design support to the Army, Marine Corps, and Air Force. Development of the Marine Corps SEAC rank insignia has been added to the institute’s project list for completion during this fiscal year. The design and development of the Navy SEAC rank insignia will be coordinated by the Navy. 

The SEAC rank insignia will be designed and developed for all service-specific uniform requirements, officials said.

SEAC Ramon “CZ” Colon-Lopez

Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

SEAC Ramon ”CZ” Colon-Lopez is the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the nation’s highest-ranking noncommissioned officer and the principal military advisor to the Chairman on all matters involving joint and combined total force integration, utilization, health of the force, and joint development for enlisted personnel.

SEAC Colon-Lopez enlisted in the United States Air Force in December 1990. He has held assignments in U.S. Air Forces Europe, Air Combat Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Education and Training Command, Pacific Air Forces, Joint Special Operations Command, and Air Forces Central Command. He has deployed numerous times in support of operations Southern Watch, Northern Watch, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Resolute Support, Inherent Resolve, and to several other classified locations. Prior to assuming his current position, he served as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader for United States Africa Command.

EDUCATION
1991 USAF Traffic Management School, Sheppard AFB, Texas
1994 USAF Pararescue Selection Course (OL-H), Lackland AFB, Texas
1995 Special Forces Underwater Operations (SFUWO) Combat Diver Course, NAS Key West, Fla.
1996 Pararescue Apprentice Course, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
1997 Airman Leadership School, Holloman AFB, N.M.
2000 SFUWO Dive Medical Technician Course, NAS Key West, Fla.
2001 Airborne Jumpmaster Course, Little Creek NAS, Va.
2003 Military Freefall Jumpmaster Course, Yuma PG, Ariz.
2003 Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala.
2005 Basic Instructor Course, Lackland AFB, Texas
2005 Associate degree in Survival and Rescue Operations, Community College of the Air Force
2005 USAF Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy (correspondence)
2007 USAF Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala.
2009 Chief Leadership Course, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala.
2011 Senior Enlisted Joint PME (correspondence)
2011 Keystone – National Defense University, Ft. McNair, Washington D.C.
2012 Gettysburg Leadership Experience, Gettysburg, Pa.
2012 USAF Leadership Enhancement Program, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, N.C.
2012 Latin America: A Political-Economic Conflict Seminar, Washington, D.C.
2015 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.
2017 National and International Security Leadership Seminar, Washington D.C.
2017 Bachelor of Science in Management Studies (Cum Laude), University of Maryland, Md.
2017 Associate degree in Management Studies, University of Maryland, Md.
2017 Professional Manager’s Certification, University of Maryland, Md.
2018 Africa: A Political-Economic Conflict Seminar, Washington D.C.
2019 Executive Education Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.

ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 1991 – October 1992, Traffic Management Specialist, 7276 ABG, Iraklion AS, Crete, Greece
2. October 1992 – September 1994, Traffic Management Journeyman, 12th Tran Sq, Randolph AFB, Texas
3. September 1994 – October 1996, Pararescue student, Det 1 342 TRS, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
4. October 1996 – February 1999, Pararescue Journeyman, 48th Rescue Sq, Holloman AFB, N.M.
5. February 1999 – January 2005, Special Tactics Element Leader, 24th STS, Pope AFB, N.C.
6. January 2005 – November 2006, Training Supt. /CEM, USAF PJ/CRO School, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
7. November 2006 – April 2009, Commandant, USAF PJ/CRO School, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
8. April 2009 – April 2011, Senior Enlisted Advisor, 24th Special Tactics Sq, Pope AFB, N.C.
9. April 2011 – November 2011, Group Superintendent, 724th Special Tactics Group, Pope AAF, N.C.
10. November 2011 – January 2013, Command Chief, 1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
11. January 2013 – June 2014, Command Chief, 18th Wing, Kadena AB, Japan
12. June 2014 – June 2016, Command Chief, United States Air Forces Central Command, Southwest Asia
13. June 2016 – September 2016, Senior Enlisted Advisor, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
14. September 2016 – November 2019, Command Senior Enlisted Leader, U.S. Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany
15. December 2019- Present, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.

MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster 
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal with Valor and oak leaf cluster Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster Joint Service Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Combat Action Medal
Presidential Unit Citation with oak leaf cluster Navy Presidential Unit Citation

OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1994 Senior Airman Below-the-Zone
1997 Leadership Award, Airman Leadership School
1998 Air Combat Command (ACC) Pararescue Noncommissioned Officer of the Year
2003 Commandant’s Award and Distinguished Graduate, Gunter NCO Academy
2004 Air Force Pararescue Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year
2005 Air Force Lance P. Sijan Leadership Award recipient, Senior Noncommissioned Officer
2005 Team Kirtland Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year
2006 Jaycee’s Ten Outstanding Young Americans USAF nominee to U.S. Chamber of Commerce
2013 Induction, Gathering of Eagles, USAF Air Command and Staff College
2017 Induction, Distinguished Veteran’s Hall of Fame, Puerto Rico

EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman, Dec. 2019 

(Current as of Dec 2019)