Pin-on Command Sergeant Major (CSM) insignia comes in nonsubdued (gold) and subdued (black) metal. Our gold Command Sergeant Major chevrons are made with anodized 22K gold plating that delivers a lustrous appearance as well as corrosion resistance—but until the recent arrival of the new All-Weather Coat and Windbreaker manufactured in Heritage Green, only NCOs in the Culinary or Medical fields were authorized to wear the nonsubdued pin-on grade insignia, specifically on designated smocks. Nonsubdued pin-on grade insignia is worn by all personnel all the two new outerwear garments, presumably introduced to complement the new Army Green Service Uniform (AGSU).
Subdued (black) pin-on grade grade insignia is worn on Utility uniforms, the ECWCS jacket, and headgear (Patrol Cap, Sun Hat, and on the liner or camo cover of the ACU helmet). On Utility uniforms and the ECWCS (“Gore-Tex”) jacket, the insignia is centered on the hook-and-loop face pad; it can also be centered on the front tab of the Gore-Tex jacket that holds the subdued sew-on rank insignia.
More Items for E-9 Command Sergeants Major
In April of 2016, the Army merged three separate branches of its Human Resources Command that had been responsible for the management of some 5,000 Sergeants Major and Command Sergeants Major into a single organization: The Sergeant Major Management Division. By combining the Command Management Branch, Sergeant Major Branch, and the Nominative Sergeant Major Program Office into a single entity, the Army eliminated the constraints of its old “stovepipe” alignment, in which Sergeants Major who might be perfectly suited for a billet or assignment handled by the Command Management Branch could be easily overlooked.
More important for the Army, however, is that the new Sergeant Major Management Division will make it possible to more readily identify the right Senior NCOs for the right position—and in some cases that could mean moving from a highly prized CSM assignment to a SGM billet. While this might seem like a demotion to E-9s serving as CSMs, that is truly not the case because particularly key billets are so critical that they must be filled at all times—and being selected for one of them is as much a sign of professional respect as being named a CSM.