09/12/2026
🎖️Gala Keynote Speaker!🎖️
We are excited to announce CSM Steve Payton, 82nd Airborne Hall of Fame, is flying in from Florida to tell some stories you’re not going to want to miss! Bio below, or just google him 😳 Link in bio for event.
CSM’s Bio:
Command Sergeant Major (Retired) Steven L. Payton was born in Grenada, Mississippi. Soon after graduation from Grenada High School, Steve enlisted in the U.S. Army in August of 1986. He attended Basic and Advanced Individual Training at Fort Sill, OK, as a 13 Foxtrot, Forward Observer.
Prior to serving in his final assignment as the United Nations Command (UNC), Combined Forces Command (CFC), United States Forces Korea (USFK) CSM, CSM(R) Payton served as the Department of the Army G-3/5/7 Operations Sergeant Major, Pentagon, accountable to the Secretary and Chief of Staff Army and Deputy Chief of Staff for Army Operations on matters of training, education, professional development, and policy matters for the Total Army.
Steven’s military career concluded in Washington, DC where he served as the Army’s first Senior Enlisted Fellow to the Department of Veterans Affairs under the Chief of Staff and Sergeant Major of the Army Fellowship program.
CSM ® Payton’s deployments include Operation Just Cause, Operation Desert Shield/Storm, three tours in Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), as well as two tours in Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), all with the 82nd Airborne Division.
CSM(R) Payton has served in several leadership positions in his 33+ years of service, including Forward Observer, Team Sergeant, Squad Leader, Platoon Sergeant, First Sergeant, Division Operations Sergeant Major, and Command Sergeant Major at the Battalion, Brigade, ASCC, HQDA Staff, and 4-Star Command Levels.
Previous duty assignments as a CSM include: 1-319th AFAR, 18th Fires BDE (ABN) and 82d Airborne Division Rear (TF All American) at Ft. Bragg, NC, HQs, United States Army Japan at Camp Zama, Japan; and HQs United Nations Command, Combined Forces Command and United States Forces Korea, at Youngsan, South Korea.
