Troy E. Black

History

Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps

The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps is selected by the Commandant of the Marine Corps to serve as his advisor and as the preeminent and highest ranking enlisted Marine with a protocol equivalency of a three-star general officer.

The Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps typically serves a four-year term, though his service is at the discretion of the Commandant of the Marine Corps.

'Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps' is the full wording of the rank, but the verbal address is Sergeant Major.

----------

Although not officially considered a Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps, Archibald Sommers was appointed to the grade of Sergeant Major on January 1, 1801. It was a solitary post, similar to the modern billet of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps.

In 1833, an act of legislation made the rank of sergeant major permanent for the Marine Corps. By 1899, five Marines held the rank of sergeant major. The rank was abolished in 1946 and re-introduced in 1954 as part of the Marine Corps rank structure.

The post of Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was established in 1957 as the senior enlisted advisor to the Commandant of the Marine Corps. It was the first such post in any of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces. The first official Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was Sergeant Major Wilbur Bestwick.

In 1970, the distinctive rank insignia of the Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps was authorized. It features the Eagle, Globe and Anchor flanked by two five-point stars, as opposed to the standard Sergeant Major rank insignia, which has a single five-point star in the center.

Find Previous Sergeants Major photos at Defense Visual Information.

Previous Sergeants Major of the Marine Corps

Download High res photo

19th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps

Troy E. Black

Sergeant Major Black assumed his current post as the 19th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps on July 26, 2019. A native of Louisville, Kentucky, he attended recruit training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island, S.C., in April of 1988.

Throughout his career, Sergeant Major Black has been assigned numerous duties to include: 0331 Machine Gunner, Machine Gun Squad and Section Leader; Weapons Platoon Sergeant and Weapons Platoon Commander; Drill Instructor, Senior Drill Instructor, DI School Instructor, and RTR Drill Master; First Sergeant, G Company 2d Bn, 1st Marines, E Company 3d Amphibious Assault Battalion, Officer Candidates School; Sergeant Major, 3d Bn, 7th Marines, Combat Logistics Battalion 5, 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit, 1st Marine Logistics Group, and Manpower and Reserve Affairs.

He has deployed aboard the USS Forrestal (CV-59) in support of Operation Just Cause and to the Mediterranean in 1989 ; deployed in support of Operation Sea Soldier, Desert Storm/Desert Shield, and Sea Angel with 3rd Bn, 5th Marines in 1990, and to Okinawa in 1992; to Iraq with 2d Bn, 1st Marines in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom II (OIF) in 2004; deployed with 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) during Operation Bright Star and to Iraq in support of Operation Steel Curtain in 2005; to Afghanistan with 3d Bn, 7th Marines in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2010; deployed with Combat Logistics Battalion 5 in support of Operation Enduring Freedom in 2012; and deployed in support of WESTPAC 14.2 and Operation Inherent Resolve with the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit in 2014.

Sergeant Major Black has a Bachelor of Science in Terrorism and Counterterrorism Studies from National American University, and graduated from the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy December of 2011.