Navy Fleet Master Chief David Isom has been selected as the next Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman (SEAC) of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS), defense officials announced Tuesday.
Isom, currently the senior enlisted leader in the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, is the sixth person, and the first sailor, to be appointed as the SEAC.
Created in 2005, the SEAC is the top enlisted position in the U.S. military and serves as the principal advisor to the chairman of the JCS.
Isom is also a former member of SEAL Team Six, officially known as the Navy Special Warfare Development Group.
He enlisted in 1987 and has served in multiple Navy SEAL and special operations units, including SEAL Team 1, Naval Special Warfare Group 10, and Special Reconnaissance Team 2, according to his biography.
Isom’s deployments include Iraq, Afghanistan, the Horn of Africa, and operations in the Pacific. His awards include four Bronze Star Medals—two awarded for valor—and two Combat Action Ribbons, along with a Presidential Unit Citation.
Isom will replace Marine Sgt. Maj. Troy Black, who has served in the role since November 2023. The change will take place in mid-to-late June.
Black’s departure is part of a broader shake-up in Pentagon leadership under President Donald Trump. He was appointed by former JSC Chairman Gen. Mark Milley and later served under Gen. Charles “CQ” Brown Jr., whom Trump fired in February.
Gen. Dan Caine, who took over as chairman earlier this year, selected Isom after two rounds of interviews, a Joint Staff spokesperson told Task & Purpose.
