MARCH AIR RESERVE BASE, Calif. -- Inside the storied Hap Arnold Club at March Air Reserve Base, California, Air Force Reserve Command leaders gathered for a closed-door leadership conference hosted by Lt. Gen. John Healy, chief of the Air Force Reserve and commander of Air Force Reserve Command, and Chief Master Sgt. Israel Nuñez, senior enlisted advisor to the chief of Air Force Reserve and command chief of Air Force Reserve Command. The event focused on strategic alignment and the cultural presence needed to build trust, improve communication, and drive action across the force.
Leadership teams from across the Reserve’s diverse wings—ranging from aerial refueling to cyber defense—came together to address shared challenges and highlight mission successes. Despite differing operational demands, one key message echoed throughout: every unit can learn from each other.
“We’ve got every airplane and every mission set in the Air Force Reserve,” Healy said. “That’s not just a strength, it’s our competitive advantage. To sustain it, we need deliberate collaboration.”
Conference briefings focused on force readiness, flying hour allocation, restructuring efforts and personnel benchmarks. Leaders tackled issues surrounding sustainability, mission relevance and future force design.
Healy addressed force-wide priorities and set the tone to maximize peer-to-peer discussion. He encouraged candid dialogue and empowered command teams to “say what needs to be said” while he kept Reserve Airmen at the forefront of every decision.
Rather than a traditional lecture format, leaders sat at round tables to foster engagement and break down communication barriers. Leaders chose the former officer’s club with decades of Reserve heritage to promote reflection and relationship building.
“As soon as I walked into the room, I could tell the setup was intentional,” said Col. Cristina Hopper, the 413th Flight Test Group commander. “Round tables instead of rows, it invited conversation, not just note-taking.”
The conversations didn’t stop at the conference doors. Informal moments over meals and hallway chats fostered communication between participants.
“This wasn’t just about what we heard in briefings, it was about building relationships that will help us lead better,” said Col. Sylvette Ortiz, 610th Air Operations Group commander. “My experience is that the higher in rank you go, the more reliant you are on relationships to get things accomplished.”
Ortiz, whose unit supports operational command and control across multiple geographic regions, emphasized how critical these face-to-face touchpoints are.
“General Healy created a space where people could speak freely and push back if needed,” she said. “That’s not just appreciated, it’s necessary.”
For Ortiz and other commanders, the message was clear: presence matters and so does being heard.
“We leave with more than notes, we leave with alignment,” Ortiz added. “It helps us walk into our units and say, ‘Here’s what the [AFRC] commander is thinking. Here’s how we’re moving forward.’ That’s powerful.”
That alignment reflects the core of AFRC’s value proposition, delivering global combat power that is efficient, experienced, accessible, and lethal. Providing 20% of the Air Force’s capability on just 3% of the budget, Reserve leaders continue to prove that strategic presence and meaningful connection amplify operational excellence.
As Lt. Gen. Healy reminded attendees, “We’re not just showing up, we’re leaning forward.”