Command sergeant major (E-9)
Three chevrons above three arcs with a star inside a wreath between them are the insignia of a command sergeant major (CSM), pay grade E-9 in the US Army.
Easily confused with
How to read it
DA Pamphlet 670-1 describes the command sergeant major insignia as three chevrons above three arcs with a five-pointed star within a wreath between the chevrons and arcs. The Army’s ranks page calls the command sergeant major the senior NCO of the command at battalion level or higher, who makes recommendations to the commander and staff and carries out policies and standards on the performance, training, appearance and conduct of enlisted soldiers. A battalion is commanded by a lieutenant colonel with a command sergeant major as the principal NCO assistant. Army Regulation 600-20 ranks the command sergeant major above the Sergeant major (E-9) and below the Sergeant major of the Army (E-9); all three are E-9 and are addressed as “Sergeant Major”.
Also searched as: CSM.
Ranks and insignia as the US Army’s own regulations and pages set them out. Pay grades are the Department of Defense’s.
The wreath
A Sergeant major (E-9) wears the same insignia without the wreath. Army Regulation 600-20 says command sergeants major are the E-9s formally selected by the Department of the Army for the Command Sergeants Major Program.
Outside the chain of command
The Army’s Soldier’s Guide (TC 7-21.13) says the NCO support channel at battalion level and higher begins with the command sergeants major, and that the first sergeant and command sergeant major are not part of the formal chain of command.
More army ranks
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Sources
- DA Pamphlet 670-1, Guide to the Wear and Appearance of Army Uniforms and Insignia, DA PAM 670-1, 26 January 2021, Headquarters, Department of the Army (Army Publishing Directorate), para 21–7a(4), 21–7a(3), 21–7a(2)
- U.S. Military Rank Insignia, Resources: U.S. Military Rank Insignia (enlisted and officer insignia by paygrade), U.S. Department of Defense (defense.gov), Insignia chart: sergeant-major, command-sergeant-major, sergeant-major-of-the-army
- U.S. Army Ranks, army.mil ranks page (enlisted, warrant officer and officer ranks), U.S. Army, Enlisted ranks: Command Sergeant Major; Battalion
- Army Regulation 600-20, Army Command Policy, AR 600-20, 6 February 2025 (administrative revision 20 February 2025), Headquarters, Department of the Army (copy hosted by the Army Transportation Corps, transportation.army.mil), para 1–7b; table 1–1; table 1–1, notes 2–3
- TC 7-21.13, The Soldier’s Guide, Training Circular 7-21.13, November 2015, Headquarters, Department of the Army (copy hosted by the Department of Defense, media.defense.gov), para 5–3a, b
Last reviewed September 29, 2026 by Rory Hansen. How we research