USA — Chandler to Become Next Sergeant Major of the Army

Sec­re­tary of the Army John McHugh and Army Chief of Staff Gen. George W. Casey Jr. announced today that Com­mand Sgt. Maj. Ray­mond F. Chan­dler III will become the sergeant major of the Army March 1.
“We have the utmost con­fi­dence in Com­mand Sgt. Maj. Chan­dler and look for­ward to hav­ing him join our lead­er­ship team,” said McHugh. “He has the right qual­i­ties and cre­den­tials to assume this vital­ly impor­tant duty that Sgt. Maj. of the Army Pre­ston has skill­ful­ly and adept­ly per­formed for the last sev­en years.”

Chan­dler is cur­rent­ly the com­man­dant of the U. S. Army Sergeants Major Acad­e­my. He will suc­ceed Ken­neth Pre­ston, who has served since Jan­u­ary 2004. 

“Com­mand Sgt. Maj. Chan­dler is the right sol­dier to lead our NCO Corps,” Casey said. “He has demon­strat­ed excel­lence in every posi­tion, and has the depth of expe­ri­ences required to help us lead our Army.” 

Chan­dler will be sworn into the new posi­tion March 1 in a cer­e­mo­ny at the Pentagon. 

“Being named the 14th sergeant major of the Army is tru­ly an hon­or,” Chan­dler said. “I am hum­bled, yet excit­ed by the oppor­tu­ni­ty to serve our sol­diers and their fam­i­lies in light of the chal­lenges ahead.” 

In June 2009, Chan­dler became the first enlist­ed com­man­dant of the U. S. Army Sergeants Major Academy. 

In his new posi­tion, Chan­dler will serve as the Army chief of staff’s per­son­al advis­er on mat­ters affect­ing the enlist­ed force. The role involves exten­sive trav­el and focus­es on sol­dier train­ing, non­com­mis­sioned offi­cer devel­op­ment and the well-being of families. 

The sergeant major of the Army rec­om­mends qual­i­ty-of-life improve­ments to Army lead­er­ship and often sits on coun­cils that make deci­sions affect­ing enlist­ed sol­diers and their fam­i­lies. He also rou­tine­ly tes­ti­fies before Con­gress on these issues. 

Pre­ston leaves the posi­tion as the longest serv­ing SMA after being select­ed by pre­vi­ous Army Chief of Staff Gen. Peter Schoomaker.

“Many of the great CSMs and SGMs serv­ing around the Army today are a prod­uct of CSM Chandler’s lead­er­ship and devel­op­ment efforts,” Pre­ston said. “He brings a broad breadth of expe­ri­ence and I have no doubt he will pro­vide the strate­gic vision and pro­fes­sion­al­ism long asso­ci­at­ed with this position.” 

Source:
U.S. Depart­ment of Defense
Office of the Assis­tant Sec­re­tary of Defense (Pub­lic Affairs) 

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