A former member of SEAL Team Six has been named the highest ranking enlisted official and an advisor to the Joint Chiefs of Staff, military officials announced Tuesday.
Navy Fleet Master Chief David Isom, once a member of Navy Special Warfare Development Group commonly called SEAL Team Six, will become the sixth Senior Enlisted Advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, according to the Department of Defense.
The SEAC position was created in 2005 and is considered the most senior enlisted leader, according to Task and Purpose.
Navy Fleet Master Chief David Isom is the new Senior Enlisted Advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Department of Defense announced Tuesday. U.S. Navy/Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Anthony J. RiveraMaster Chief Isom has a long resume of active duty service including combat and operational deployments in Operation Desert Shield, Operation Desert Storm, Operation Enduring Freedom, Operation Iraqi Freedom, and other stints through the Pacific and the Horn of Africa, according to his official biography.
The career soldier also deployed with SEAL Team 1 during his illustrious career, according to that biography.
During his service career, Isom won four Bronze Star Medals, including two with distinction for valor, two Combat Action Ribbons, and a Presidential Unity Citation, Task and Purpose reported.
“Master Chief Isom’s assignments have included a full range of duties in Sea, Air, Land (SEAL) Teams at Theater Special Operations Commands and across the joint environment,” the newly minted SEAC’s biography read.
Isom won four Bronze Star Medals during his combat career that included tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Marine Corps/Cpl. Dean GuruleMost recently, Isom has served as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader for US Indo-Pacific Command.
Isom joined the Navy in 1987, inspired by his Korean War Army veteran father and a love of the ocean that he discovered while surfing off the coast of his native North Carolina, he revealed in an interview in 2022.
The decorated SEAL revealed that he was promoted to the rank of Chief Petty Officer around the time of September 11th, 2001, and was soon deployed to the Middle East.
After losing “teammates” while fighting in Afghanistan in Iraq, Isom said he learned, “the key role of leaders and caring for people and developing other leaders,” according to that interview.
Master Chief Isom is replacing current SEAC Troy E. Black, the DoD said in the release.
