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Next ACO Command Senior Enlisted Leader Selected


CSM Siim Saliste
MONS, Belgium - Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR), General Curtis M. Scaparrotti announced that Estonian Defence Forces (EDF) Command Sergeant Major Siim Saliste will become the 6th Allied Command Operations (ACO) Command Senior Enlisted Leader (CSEL) at Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe, Belgium, on Jan. 11, 2019.

"I am confident in Command Sergeant Major Saliste's leadership abilities and look forward to having him join the ACO Command Team" said General Scaparrotti. "His experience, knowledge, and commitment to the service members and mission make him especially qualified to assume this important duty, one that Command Sergeant Major Petek has honorably served with distinction over the past three and a half years."

Command Sergeant Major Saliste is currently the Command Sergeant Major of the Estonian Defence Forces, the first to hold the position, and is responsible for the readiness, the development and training of the EDF Non-Commissioned Officers.

He is a combat veteran who deployed multiple times in support of NATO operations including: as the command senior enlisted leader of the NATO-led international peacekeeping force, Kosovo Force in 1999; as a scout platoon sergeant in the NATO-led Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina; and as the Situation Awareness Centre sergeant major in support of the NATO-led security mission in Afghanistan, International Security Assistance Force. Additionally, Command Sergeant Major Saliste has also served at Headquarters Allied Force Command Heidelberg, Germany, now NATO's Allied Land Command, as the G7 sergeant major, sergeant major of the Situation Cell, and operations sergeant major for the Joint Coordination Centre.

He will succeed Command Sergeant Major Davor Petek, who has served in that position since June 2015, on April 30, 2019.

"Command Sergeant Major Saliste brings a wealth of experience and passion to the job," said Command Sergeant Major Petek. "The position is demanding. The responsibility is great. And, I know, Command Sergeant Major Saliste is the right person to continue improving the NATO noncommissioned officer corps."

Command Sergeant Major Saliste is a graduate of Class 57 of the U.S. Army Sergeants Major Academy.

The Command Senior Enlisted Leader serves as the Supreme Allied Commander Europe's personal adviser on matters affecting the enlisted force. CSEL is responsible for mentoring the Alliance's enlisted force and representing their needs to the leadership.

The CSEL ensures the NATO NCO Bi-Strategic Command Strategy and NCO Guidelines are nested with SACEUR's command priorities; establishes policies, procedures, and responsibilities for all organizations within Allied Command Operations to plan and execute NCO and junior enlisted personnel development programs; and works closely with Allied Command Transformation to ensure NATO School's distance learning courses are current, relevant, and nested with the resident curriculum.

Story by SHAPE Public Affairs Office

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