Ramon “CZ” Colon-Lopez, top enlisted officer of the joint forces has some mighty tall orders to fulfill
New SEAC to Serve as Chairman’s Eyes and Ears to Joint Force
JAN. 24, 2020 | BY JIM GARAMONE , DOD NEWS
The new senior enlisted advisor to the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is not one for staying inside the Pentagon.
SEAC Ramon “CZ” Colon-Lopez, the Air Force pararescueman chosen by Army Gen. Mark Milley to be the fourth person to fill the most senior enlisted rank in the American armed forces, will serve as the eyes and ears of the chairman. “I’m a directed telescope and an extension of him,” the SEAC said during an interview. “So, everywhere I go, I will be representing him on behalf of the joint force.”
The general told the SEAC that he should be visible to the force. “To me, being visible is not being behind a podium,” he said. “Being visible is getting out there, sweating and embracing the ‘suck’ with the forces in the most remote of places.”
The SEAC needs to get this firsthand look and experience so he can be a better advocate to the chairman on the needs of the joint forces.00:29
The Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman is a distinct military position and rank within DOD. It also has its own unique insignia.
The chairman has given the SEAC a lot of leeway in accomplishing the tasks he has been given. “When we had the conversation, he also gave me some additional things that he wanted me to get after,” Colon-Lopez said. “He didn’t tell me how to do it, he just told me what he will expect from me.”
The SEAC has rewritten the Joint Chiefs of Staff Instruction regarding the roles, responsibilities, authorities and collaboration practices of his office. The new instruction is in the approval process now.
The SEAC is working on the chairman’s instruction on several lines of effort. The first line grows from the revision of the instruction. Colon-Lopez will define how the SEAC will build and coordinate among the service and combatant command senior enlisted leaders.
Another line of effort is to help develop the officer and enlisted joint force. “General Milley was very clear to say [to] make sure that they have the knowledge, skills and attributes to be able to get after the mission and make sure that they do it with honor,” he said.
The SEAC will also build relationships — something that is second nature for Colon-Lopez after serving as the senior enlisted leader at U.S. Africa Command in his previous job.
The SEAC will look to build relationships with his fellow U.S. senior enlisted leaders and reach out to his counterparts in allied and partner nations around the world. He said he will reach out to these nations and find out what is it that we can do to better bring them into the loop to make sure that we have force multipliers out there.
The SEAC also has a role in joint force readiness. “When it came to readiness the chairman was pretty clear, saying that you need to lead by example,” he said. “(Milley told him) readiness starts with you — the way that you carry yourself, the way that you act, the way that you speak to people.”
At Milley’s direction, the SEAC will work with Air Force Gen. John Hyten to look deep into DOD personnel programs. “(We want to) see what’s outdated, what is irrelevant, what doesn’t work, and what have the services done to go ahead and mitigate or eliminate those processes,” he said.
The SEAC will work as part of the team to bring forward new ideas and to communicate across the services to find best practices.
The SEAC will also continue work on NCO joint professional military education. “I … have a concept that I’m going to pitch to (the National Defense University) in March regarding a Keystone-minus (course) for E-6 and E-7s,” he said.
The SEAC is proposing a joint operations module in professional military education to start the conversation about working in a joint environment. Now, this sort of course is presented to senior NCOs and petty officers.
“I think that sequential approach allows for any soldier, sailor, airman or Marine to live their formative years in their services learning to be the best tactician or technician in their trades,” Colon-Lopez said. “And then by the time they are seasoned E-6s, going into E-7, then they get this joint education to (understand) this is how we all come together.”
Finally, the SEAC is dealing with something no senior enlisted leader in the military today has ever dealt with: the creation of a new military service — the U.S. Space Force. Colon-Lopez has coordinated already with Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Roger A. Towberman, U.S. Space Command’s senior enlisted leader. The SEAC wants to get a look at what the enlisted space force will look like. “We’re talking about structure, we’re talking about … accessions, … basic military training, technical training, the culture that we need to create,” he said.
SEAC Ramón “CZ” Colón-López
Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
- SEAC Ramón “CZ” Colón-López
- Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
SEAC Ramón “CZ” Colón-López is the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the most senior enlisted service member, by position, in the United States Armed Forces, and the principal military advisor to the Chairman on all matters involving joint and combined total force integration, utilization, health of the force, and joint development for enlisted personnel.
SEAC Colón-López enlisted in the United States Air Force in December 1990. He has held assignments in U.S. Air Forces Europe, Air Combat Command, Air Force Special Operations Command, Air Education and Training Command, Pacific Air Forces, Joint Special Operations Command, and Air Forces Central Command. He has deployed numerous times in support of operations Southern Watch, Northern Watch, Enduring Freedom, Iraqi Freedom, New Dawn, Resolute Support, Inherent Resolve, and to several other classified locations. Prior to assuming his current position, he served as the Command Senior Enlisted Leader for United States Africa Command.
EDUCATION
1991 USAF Traffic Management School, Sheppard AFB, Texas
1994 USAF Pararescue Selection Course (OL-H), Lackland AFB, Texas
1995 Special Forces Underwater Operations (SFUWO) Combat Diver Course, NAS Key West, Fla.
1996 Pararescue Apprentice Course, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
1997 Airman Leadership School, Holloman AFB, N.M.
2000 SFUWO Dive Medical Technician Course, NAS Key West, Fla.
2001 Airborne Jumpmaster Course, Little Creek NAS, Va.
2003 Military Freefall Jumpmaster Course, Yuma PG, Ariz.
2003 Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala.
2005 Basic Instructor Course, Lackland AFB, Texas
2005 Associate degree in Survival and Rescue Operations, Community College of the Air Force
2005 USAF Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy (correspondence)
2007 USAF Senior Noncommissioned Officer Academy, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala.
2009 Chief Leadership Course, Maxwell-Gunter AFB, Ala.
2011 Senior Enlisted Joint PME (correspondence)
2011 Keystone – National Defense University, Ft. McNair, Washington D.C.
2012 Gettysburg Leadership Experience, Gettysburg, Pa.
2012 USAF Leadership Enhancement Program, Center for Creative Leadership, Greensboro, N.C.
2012 Latin America: A Political-Economic Conflict Seminar, Washington, D.C.
2015 Enterprise Leadership Seminar, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, N.C.
2017 National and International Security Leadership Seminar, Washington D.C.
2017 Bachelor of Science in Management Studies (Cum Laude), University of Maryland, Md.
2017 Associate degree in Management Studies, University of Maryland, Md.
2017 Professional Manager’s Certification, University of Maryland, Md.
2018 Africa: A Political-Economic Conflict Seminar, Washington D.C.
2019 Executive Education Program, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass.
ASSIGNMENTS
1. April 1991 – October 1992, Traffic Management Specialist, 7276 ABG, Iraklion AS, Crete, Greece
2. October 1992 – September 1994, Traffic Management Journeyman, 12th Tran Sq, Randolph AFB, Texas
3. September 1994 – October 1996, Pararescue student, Det 1 342 TRS, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
4. October 1996 – February 1999, Pararescue Journeyman, 48th Rescue Sq, Holloman AFB, N.M.
5. February 1999 – January 2005, Special Tactics Element Leader, 24th STS, Pope AFB, N.C.
6. January 2005 – November 2006, Training Supt. /CEM, USAF PJ/CRO School, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
7. November 2006 – April 2009, Commandant, USAF PJ/CRO School, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
8. April 2009 – April 2011, Senior Enlisted Advisor, 24th Special Tactics Sq, Pope AFB, N.C.
9. April 2011 – November 2011, Group Superintendent, 724th Special Tactics Group, Pope AAF, N.C.
10. November 2011 – January 2013, Command Chief, 1st Special Operations Wing, Hurlburt Field, Fla.
11. January 2013 – June 2014, Command Chief, 18th Wing, Kadena AB, Japan
12. June 2014 – June 2016, Command Chief, United States Air Forces Central Command, Southwest Asia
13. June 2016 – September 2016, Senior Enlisted Advisor, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Manpower and Reserve Affairs, Pentagon, Washington D.C.
14. September 2016 – November 2019, Command Senior Enlisted Leader, U.S. Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany
15. December 2019- Present, Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va.
MAJOR AWARDS AND DECORATIONS
Defense Superior Service Medal with oak leaf cluster
Legion of Merit
Bronze Star Medal with Valor and oak leaf cluster Defense Meritorious Service Medal
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters Air Medal with oak leaf cluster
Aerial Achievement Medal with two oak leaf clusters
Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster
Joint Service Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Achievement Medal with oak leaf cluster
Air Force Combat Action Medal
Presidential Unit Citation with oak leaf cluster Navy Presidential Unit Citation
OTHER ACHIEVEMENTS
1994 Senior Airman Below-the-Zone
1997 Leadership Award, Airman Leadership School
1998 Air Combat Command (ACC) Pararescue Noncommissioned Officer of the Year
2003 Commandant’s Award and Distinguished Graduate, Gunter NCO Academy
2004 Air Force Pararescue Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year
2005 Air Force Lance P. Sijan Leadership Award recipient, Senior Noncommissioned Officer
2005 Team Kirtland Senior Noncommissioned Officer of the Year
2006 Jaycee’s Ten Outstanding Young Americans USAF nominee to U.S. Chamber of Commerce
2013 Induction, Gathering of Eagles, USAF Air Command and Staff College
2017 Induction, Distinguished Veteran’s Hall of Fame, Puerto Rico
EFFECTIVE DATES OF PROMOTION
Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman, Dec. 2019