Photo By Jeffrey Grossi | Chief Master Sgt. Israel Nuñez, the Air Force Reserve Command's command chief, meets...... read more read more
Air Force Reserve Command's top enlisted leader visited Pittsburgh International Airport Air Reserve Station on May 3, 2026 meeting with more than 100 Steel Airmen and the wing's command team to hear firsthand about the challenges facing the Reserve force and its successes.
Chief Master Sgt. Israel Nuñez, AFRC command chief, made a pit-stop at the 911th Airlift Wing while returning from a week of unit visits at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The 911th AW was a natural stop, Nuñez said, given the wing's recent operational record – including its role as the first Air Force Reserve unit to lead an expeditionary air base deployment to the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility.
"We wanted to see some of those Airmen, get some of those thoughts and perspectives from their deployment experience," Nuñez said.
Nuñez met with Col. Douglas Stouffer, 911th AW commander, and the wing's senior leadership team, asking each to identify their top areas of progress and their most pressing challenges. Those conversations, he said, feed directly back to AFRC leadership.
"Some of them, be it financial issues, Airman issues – those are the conversations that we had with the wing staff, and I'll relate back to our command leadership," Nuñez said.
Chief Master Sgt. Dennis Jendrzejewski, the command chief of the 911th AW, said he wanted to extend that opportunity to be heard to as many Steel Airmen as he could.
“20 years ago as an enlisted Airmen I had no chance to meet the Command Chief of the Air Force Reserve," said Jendrzejewski. “I hope it was a great value and I appreciate everyone who made time and came out.”
With the enlisted force, Nuñez said the focus was quality of life. He cited Airman concerns raised during the visit – including reimbursement gaps during inactive duty training periods and access to TRICARE Reserve Select – as exactly the kind of ground-level intelligence that shapes his advocacy in Washington.
"We spend a lot of time on Capitol Hill. We spend a lot of time in the halls of the Pentagon," Nuñez said. "We need to make sure that we're treated not as second class citizens – that we have the health care needs that we deserve, that we have the financial benefits that we deserve."
Before departing, Nuñez recognized three Steel Airmen for their contributions to the wing's mission: Tech. Sgt. Christopher Edge, a supply specialist with the 911th Logistics Readiness Squadron; Airman 1st Class Rockett Nichols, a radio frequency transmission systems technician with the 911th Communications Squadron; and Tech. Sgt. Hayley Rogachesky, the noncommissioned officer in charge of Installation Personnel Readiness with the 911th Force Support Squadron.
"I wish we could recognize more," Nuñez said. "Our enlisted Airmen are on fire. They're just doing what the Air Force is asking them to do – follow those three core values. Put excellence in all we do, integrity first and service before self. And they were the epitome of that. I think that's what I saw across the 911th formation."
Nuñez said he hopes Steel Airmen walk away from the visit knowing their senior leaders are doing more than holding titles.
"My hope is that they saw a senior leader who is putting deeds before his words," he said. ”And it's just not me, Lt. Gen. Healy, Maj. Gen. Sebring – across the command we have senior leaders who are really getting after those issues that really affect our Airmen on a day to day basis.”
| Date Taken: | 05.06.2026 |
| Date Posted: | 05.07.2026 11:07 |
| Story ID: | 564659 |
| Location: | PITTSBURGH INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT AIR RESERVE STATION, PENNSYLVANIA, US |
| Web Views: | 21 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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