Chief Master Sgt. Nuñez meets reserve airmen supporting Balikatan

At Camp General Emilio Aguinaldo on April 23, the Air Force Reserve’s top enlisted leader met with U.S. Reserve Airmen supporting Exercise Balikatan, spotlighting the component’s growing role as the United States and the Philippines stage their largest iteration of the annual drills during the 75th anniversary year of the Mutual Defense Treaty.

U.S. Air Force Chief Master Sgt. Israel Nuñez, senior enlisted advisor to the Chief of Air Force Reserve at the Pentagon and command chief of Air Force Reserve Command at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, spent the visit engaging reservists who are instructing leadership courses at the Philippine Air Force Leader Development Center and connecting with cyber operators deployed for the exercise. He emphasized the reserve component’s edge in efficiency, experience, availability and combat power as Airmen prepared to integrate across allied and partner formations.

“We have some Reserve Airmen doing great stuff in Balikatan, so I said yes, as it’s always good to see Airmen out in the field,” Nuñez said, during a video teleconference with cyber operations Airmen. “You are all doing real-world stuff and the fact that you’re out there on your own and running your own site, speaks volumes to what the Reserve brings to the fight.”

This year’s Balikatan brings together personnel from the United States, the Philippines, Australia, Canada, France, Japan and New Zealand. About 50 Air Force Reservists are participating from aerial port and aeromedical staging squadrons, intelligence units, the 919th Special Operations Wing, the 920th Rescue Wing and the 960th Cyberspace Wing.

For Chief Master Sgt. Rodney Balgan, superintendent of the 42nd Cyber Operations Squadron, enabling Reserve Airmen to operate and instruct in the Indo-Pacific is a direct extension of the missions and training they conduct year-round. “We are working to show them tactics, techniques and procedures that are robust and well established within the Air Force Reserve,” Balgan said.

He added that face-to-face engagement from senior leaders can be a force multiplier for teams working through demanding field conditions. “There have been some tough, long hours in the heat for some of the Airmen,” Balgan said. “To have a senior leader meet them in those field conditions, you can see firsthand how their morale and willingness to work harder increases.”

Balikatan—Tagalog for “shoulder-to-shoulder”—is the long-running combined exercise between the Armed Forces of the Philippines and the U.S. military, designed to deepen alliance interoperability and signal a shared commitment to regional security and stability.