En route to Africa, the Senior Enlisted Advisor to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (SEAC), Marine Corps Sergeant Major Bryan B. Battaglia, stopped in Stuttgart, Germany, to meet with staff members and senior leaders of U.S. Africa Command, April 20, 2012.



In his first visit to U.S. AFRICOM since becoming the Defense Department's top senior non-commissioned officer and senior enlisted advisor, Battaglia addressed enlisted members in Stuttgart during an all-hands enlisted call held at Patch Barracks Theater for both U.S. Africa Command and U.S. European Command.



"Both of these theaters and combatant commands play an integral role in the defense, strategies and best interest of our nation, and I can even go beyond that to partner nations," he said. "So don't think for one moment that you may be stuck behind a desk doing a certain duty, and it has no impact to the overall mission objectives, lines of operation for your commanders or campaign plan or theater security plan."



The SEAC, appointed by the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS), serves as a spokesperson to address the issues of enlisted members to the highest officials at the Department of Defense. He is the principal military advisor to the CJCS and the Secretary of Defense on all matters involving joint and combined total force integration, utilization, health of the force and joint development for enlisted personnel.



Battaglia is the first Marine and the second person to hold the office of the SEAC, since the creation of the office in 2005. Battaglia was invited here by Chief Master Sergeant Jack Johnson Jr., U.S. Africa Command's senior enlisted leader.



"For the airmen, soldiers, sailors, Marines and Coastguardsmen of this great community, it is important to hear directly from the senior enlisted advisor to the Chairman, the goals and intent of our Chairman, what direction our force is going" Johnson said. "It is great chance for him (the SEAC) to see the U.S. Africa Command.



This command is doing incredible things, not just here but also on the continent of Africa. So he'll get a chance to understand it; he will get a chance to go down to the continent to see what our enlisted corps is doing."



During the Stuttgart visit, the SEAC visited the command headquarters, where he met with Johnson and AFRICOM leadership. He also received the command's mission brief, which focused on overall AFRICOM strategy in Africa and its outreach to African partners.



After the briefing, the SEAC had discussions with selected enlisted members during a lunch at the AFRICOM commander's mess. Afterward, he proceeded to Patch Barracks Theater for the all-hands with enlisted members of AFRICOM and U.S. European Command.

The SEAC's address focused on the Chairman's four priorities: achieve our national objectives in the current conflicts; develop Joint Force 2020; keeping faith with our military family; and renew our commitment to the profession of arms.



He explained some of his responsibilities to the enlisted forces as the SEAC. And he shared the concept of Total Force Fitness, which goes beyond physical fitness to encompass social, behavioral, psychological, nutritional, spiritual, medical and dental, and environmental.



While addressing enlisted members, Battaglia talked about the importance of their roles in the current military operations and engagements around the world.



In his address, the SEAC noted the importance of teamwork in accomplishing the mission. "You can't do it alone nor can Admiral Stavridis or General Ham or these two guys sitting up here," he said, referring to AFRICOM's and EUCOM's senior enlisted leaders. He added, "In our business, we rely on one another to go through periods of turbulence, and special breed of folks like you that are found on the left and right, leading the front or following close behind -- all those individuals that make up this team. It's a gathering of talents in the greatest team sport in the world that we are in -- enlisted service members."



After his speech, the SEAC opened up the floor for questions from the audience. Among the topics the SEAC addressed were military retirement plans, manning issues, and high operations tempo.



In closing, Battaglia thanked the AFRICOM and EUCOM teams for their hard work. He also delivered a message on behalf of the Chairman, JCS.



"Trust me when I tell you that America loves you," Battaglia said.



He emphasized, "On behalf of the Chairman, he and I are extremely proud of all your efforts, for we know that you can probably and easily discharge, retire or separate at the end of your enlistment, and walk to the outside and double your salary but you haven't, and some of you won't. That means a whole lot because there is something else keeping you in uniform and it's larger than yourself."