{{pp-semi-indef|small=yes}} {{short description|Senior enlisted member of U.S. Army battalion or higher}} {{Infobox military rank | name = Command Sergeant Major | image = File:Army-USA-OR-09b (Army greens).svg | image_size = | alt = | caption = Army insignia | image2 = | image_size2 = | alt2 = | caption2 = | image3 = | image_size3 = | alt3 = | caption3 = | country = {{flag|United States}} | service branch = {{army|United States}} | abbreviation = CSM | rank group = Non-commissioned officer | rank = | NATO rank = OR-9 | Non-NATO rank = | pay grade = E-9 | formation = {{Start date|1968|05|28}} | abolished = | higher rank = Sergeant Major of the Army | lower rank = Sergeant major | equivalents = | history = }}
A '''Command Sergeant Major''' ('''CSM''') is a non-commissioned rank and position of office in the United States Army. The holder of this rank and position is the most senior enlisted member of a color-bearing Army unit (battalion or higher). The CSM is appointed to serve as a spokesman to address the issues of all personnel assigned to the command, representing enlisted members and warrant and commissioned officers. As such, they are the senior enlisted advisor to the commander. The exact duties vary depending on the unit commander, including observing training and talking with soldiers and their families.
==History== The duties of a sergeant major have been defined in the U.S. Army since the days of von Steuben (1779). The need for a senior enlisted advisor to a commander was recognized in the Vietnam War era (December 1966).<ref name="csm">[http://ncohistory.com/files/SGMhistory.pdf CSM-Retired Daniel K. Elder (2 Jan 1998, revised 26 Oct 2008) The History of the Sergeant Major] Fort Bliss, Texas</ref>
[[File:CsmMichaelACrosbyAFCActivationCeremony.jpg|thumb|left|Command Sgt. Maj. Michael A. Crosby, left, bears the colors of Army Futures Command, as General Mark Milley, 23rd Secretary of the Army Mark Esper, and General John M. Murray unfurl the colors on 24 August 2018, in Austin, Texas]]
The command sergeant major, as the most senior sergeant of a color-bearing unit and advisor to the unit commander, began on May 28, 1968, under Army chief of staff Gen. Harold K. Johnson<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title=At the Point of Friction|url=https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/November-December-2023/At-the-Point-of-Friction/|website=Army University Press|access-date=2025-11-30|archive-url=http://web.archive.org/web/20250807071913/https://www.armyupress.army.mil/Journals/Military-Review/English-Edition-Archives/November-December-2023/At-the-Point-of-Friction/|archive-date=2025-08-07|language=en-US}}</ref> who created the Command Sergeants Major Program.
Command sergeants major were originally thought of as someone who would advocate for enlisted soldiers, focusing on "problems affecting enlisted personnel and their solutions."<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|title=History of the Sergeant Major|url=https://ncohistory.com/history-of-the-sergeant-major/|website=NCO Historical Society|date=2020-05-16|access-date=2025-11-30|language=en-US|first=Daniel|last=Elder}}</ref> After much debate, the Army published a definitive doctrine on the CSM's duties in ''Field Manual 22-600-20, The Duties, Responsibilities, and Authority of NCO’s'' ''(1980).''<ref name=":1" />
Current CSM duties are defined in ''TC 7-22.7, The Noncommissioned Officer Guide'' and fall into six categories: readiness, training, leadership, communications, operations and program management.<ref name=":0" />
CSMs are selected for assignment only after training as top enlisted leaders.<ref name="csm" /><ref>CSM-Retired Daniel K. Elder (2 Jan 1998, revised 26 Oct 2008) The History of the Sergeant Major Fort Bliss, Texas, (page 5, lines 17-20)</ref><ref>Mages, Robert M. (2013). "The Sergeants Major of the Army (CMH Pub 70–63–1)" (PDF) (3rd ed.). Washington, D.C.: Center for Military History (page 14, lines 4–7)</ref>
==Insignia== <gallery caption="CSM insignia timeline" class="center" align="center"> File:Army-USA-OR-09c-2015.svg|1966–1968, the only authorized insignia for all sergeants major <ref>{{Cite web|title=The Sergeants Major of the Army (CMH Pub 70–63–1)|publisher=Center for Military History|edition=3rd|url=https://history.army.mil/html/books/070/70-63-1/CMH_Pub_70-63-1.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150319010114/http://www.history.army.mil/html/books/070/70-63-1/CMH_Pub_70-63-1.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=March 19, 2015|last=Mages|first=Robert M.|location=Washington, D.C.|date=2013}}</ref> US Army E-9 SMA (1966–1979).svg|1968–1979, became command sergeant major </gallery>
==References== {{reflist|30em}}
{{US_enlisted_ranks}} {{US Army navbox}} {{Senior Enlisted Advisor}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Command Sergeant Major}} Category:1968 establishments in the United States Category:Military ranks of the United States Army Category:Enlisted ranks of the United States Armed Forces Category:Senior Enlisted Advisor