Command Sergeant Major Stephen F. Coville II, the incoming 353d Civil Affairs Command, Command Sergeant Major was born in Orange County California and raised in upstate New York.
He enlisted in the United States Army in 1984 at the age of 18 and was trained as an Infantry Soldier at Fort Benning, GA. He served in Panama from 1985 to 1989, where he re-enlisted as an Automated Logistician and PCS to Fort Hood, TX. During his this time, CSM Coville held a variety of positions to include; Team leader, Squad leader and Section leader.
Command Sergeant Major Coville left active duty in August of 1990, and continued his military service in the NY National Guard. He was assigned to the 642nd Aviation BN (ASB) out of Rochester, NY where he worked as a Drill Instructor for the 98th Training Division for eight years. He later re-classed to a Combat Engineer to better support the training mission.
In 1998, CSM Coville transitioned into the Civil Affairs field at which time he was assigned to a variety of positions such as; CA Team member, CA Team SGT, Operations SGT, Detachment NCOIC and 1SG. CSM Coville has served as CSM for the 401st Civil Affairs Battalion, the 437th Civil Affairs Battalion, the 304th Civil Affairs Brigade and the 2nd Psychological Operations Group. During his career as Civil Affairs noncommissioned officer, Command Sergeant Major Coville has served tours of duty in Bosnia, Afghanistan and Iraq. He has also participated in operations and training exercises in Kuwait and Georgia.
Command Sergeant Major Coville holds an Associate Degree in Criminal Justice and is a graduate of the US Army Sergeants Major Academy and his decorations include: two Bronze Star medals, Meritorious Service medal with two oak leaf cluster, Joint Service Commendation medal with oak leaf cluster, the Army Commendation Medal with 4 oak leaf clusters, Army Achievement medal with four oak leaf clusters, Army Expeditionary medal, Afghanistan Campaign medal, Iraqi Campaign medal and the Combat Action Badge.
In his civilian life CSM Coville is serving his 24th year as a Veteran Affairs Federal Police Officer.