Biography
Command Sgt. Maj. David John Silva is from in Long Beach, California. He enlisted in the U.S. Army Aug. 17, 1993. After completing One Station Unit Training at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, he was awarded military occupational specialty (MOS) 13B, cannon crewmember. After Airborne School he served in 1st Battalion, 39th Field Artillery Regiment (Airborne). Silva volunteered for explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) training in 1996, and in 1997 graduated from Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal, attaining the basic EOD badge and MOS 55D.
Silva’s assignments include EOD team member and team leader, 748th Ordnance Company (EOD), Fort Jackson, South Carolina; EOD team leader and platoon sergeant, 38th Ordnance Company (EOD), Fort Stewart, Georgia; Weapons of Mass Destruction Coordination Element (WCE) operations NCO, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland; first sergeant, 706th Ordnance Company (EOD) and 74th Ordnance Company (EOD), Schofield Barracks, Hawaii; operations NCO in charge of the 3rd Ordnance Disposal Battalion (EOD); and Task Force EOD Operation Inherent Resolve command sergeant major, Kuwait, Iraq and Syria. Silva’s previous assignment was command sergeant major for the 79th Ordnance Battalion (EOD) at Fort Riley, Kansas.
Silva’s deployments include Operations Desert Thunder and Desert Fox in 1998; Operation Enduring Freedom in 2002; Iraqi Freedom in 2003, 2005 and 2006-08; Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan in 2010-11; and Operation Inherent Resolve in 2017-18 as a task force command sergeant major.
Silva’s military education includes 13B One Station Unit Training, Airborne School, Naval School Explosive Ordnance Disposal Course, Radiological Emergency Team Operations (RETOPS), Advance Access and Disablement Course, Humanitarian Demining Course, First Sergeant’s Course, Global Anti-Terror Operators Course, all levels of NCO Education System, and is a graduate of the United States Army Sergeants Major Academy Resident Course. He holds a Bachelor’s of Science in Liberal Arts from Excelsior College and is in pursuit of his Master of Science Degree in Business Management.
Silva’s awards include the Bronze Star Medal (fourth award), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (third award), Army Commendation Medal (seventh award), Army Achievement Medal (third award), Joint Meritorious Unit Award, Meritorious Unit Citation, Army Good Conduct Medal (eighth award), National Defense Ribbon with bronze service star, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal with bronze service star, Afghan Campaign Medal with campaign star, Iraq Campaign Medal with four campaign stars, Global War on Terror Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terror Service Medal, NCO Professional Development Ribbon (fifth award), Army Service Ribbon, Overseas Service Ribbon (second award), NATO Medal, Combat Action Badge, Basic Parachutist Badge, Master Explosive Ordnance Disposal Badge and Drivers Badge.