OFFUTT AIR FORCE BASE, Neb. -- The Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff visited Offutt Air Force Base, Neb., Dec. 6, 2023.
Marine Corps Sgt. Maj. Troy Black visited with personnel from across U.S. Strategic Command, the 55th Wing and the 557th Weather Wing and held an enlisted all-call during his time on the installation.
“I had the opportunity to talk with senior enlisted leaders and let them know they are the generation of leaders that are responsible for training and mentoring you to replace them in the future,” Black said during the all-call. “A future that our enemy has written by 2049 will dominate the world.”
“Some of you, believe it or not, will still be in uniform at that time,” he added.
Black took a moment to thank the service members for raising their hands and taking the oath to protect and defend the nation but warned them that the war of the future will not be like what they have grown accustomed to in recent decades.
He even cautioned them about falling into the trap of only studying the history or current news that you agree with, jesting that you could even use a certain popular online tool to write a history of your own and it will tell you exactly what you want to hear but that doesn’t stop the current real threat that is out there ready to take everything they hold dear away.
“How we do things right now are the foundation of what we must continue to do, progressed to the point to where we can dominate and have privacy in every domain up to and including the fact that we will actually have to utilize and fight in every single one of them,” Black said.
A good example of what Black is referring to is the current war happening between Russia and Ukraine. One of the largest militaries is facing off against one of the best resourced and they are at a stalemate.
“History is 100 percent factually accurate,” said Black. “The future, though unknown, is very relative to what is happening.”
“In our business that means there will be conflict, there will be combat and there will be war,” he continued.
Ultimately, the U.S. military is the most powerful organization that has ever existed, Black explained. The idea that a generation was better than another is as old as time.
Every generation is different, every generation has its good and bad, pros and cons, Black said. This is what I am convinced of because I have lived through this in my life, that whole idea is wrong, and your generation is just like mine.
“That is why I now say, thank you,” Black said. “Thank you for raising your hand and pledging to defend this nation.”
Black assumed his current post as the 5th SEAC Nov. 3, 2023, following his selection and service as the 19th Sergeant Major of the Marine Corps. He has a Bachelor of Science in Terrorism and Counterterrorism Studies from National American University and graduated from the Joint Special Operations Forces Senior Enlisted Academy in December 2011.