During retired Air Force Master Sgt. Russ Short’s 33 years on active duty, he was stationed on bases from Japan to Texas. None, though, left the kind of impression on him that the 911th Airlift Wing in Moon Township did.

   “I never met anyone here I didn’t like,” he says. “Great commanders, great sergeants; just a great bunch of people.”

   Short could be biased. His daughter, Gina Shaffer, serves as a master sergeant on the base. She just completed her 15th year in August, after enlisting right out of high school. Short’s other daughter, Candace, also served in the military. She left recently though after she became pregnant. Short’s son, Chad, served as well, including in Kuwait. Had he not tragically lost his life in a car accident, this year would have marked his 20th in the military.

   As the Short family does every year, they came out to the base for its annual Family Day Picnic August 2. During the annual event, military personnel stationed at the 911th bring their families out for a day of food, games, a race, music and socializing, on what would otherwise be a workday. For the Shorts, it’s a down day they get to spend with what Russ calls their “extended family.”

   Senior Master Sgt. John Lee, a reservist at the base, says that the day is a morale booster, and for military members creates a rare occasion when families and military personnel get to intermingle. He says it’s also a way to thank and welcome home those returning from deployment. Lee points out that it’s not just service members who sacrifice during deployment. Families back home sacrifice as well. That’s what prompted him to start a nonprofit named Heroes Supporting Heroes a couple of years ago, with the mission of helping family members of deployed service members with everything from leaky roofs to car repairs.

   Though a reservist base, about one-half to one-quarter of personnel at the 911th are usually on deployment at any one time, he says.

   This year, amid a shrinking defense budget, the Air Force approached Lee about finding alternative funding for the family day event.

   “They knew I was connected to the community and that I could probably help,” he says.

   In June, Lee also became the commander of VFW Post 7714 in Imperial. At almost the same time, he was named junior vice commander of Pennsylvania VFW District 29, which covers Allegheny County. Via a grant through the VFW Unmet Needs program, Lee was able to secure $4,500 to donate to the event. The VFW Post 7714 also donated $300.

   For Lee and many other reservists, the 911th isn’t just a job; it’s a way to serve both their country and community while still having time for a life outside of the military. Such was the case for Master Sgt. Jim Crane, a K-9 officer with the city of Pittsburgh who also serves on the honor guard at the 911th. During the family day event, Crane gave demonstrations to a crowd with his police dog.  

   Prior to becoming a reservist, Crane served on active duty as a military police officer in the Army for eight years. After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, he wanted to reenlist, but not at the cost of leaving his family for extended periods. He’s since found a part time but meaningful role with the base’s honor guard, which handles military funerals across western Pennsylvania, as well as into Ohio and West Virginia. The only other closest honor guard is an active duty one stationed at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in Youngstown, Ohio, he says. Crane says he probably handles about 90 to 200 funerals per year, and estimates he’s performed 500. In 2009, he was named Ceremonial Guardsman of the Year.