CARSON CITY, Nev. –
Chief Master Sgt. Joshua Leggett describes his career journey through the lens of personal growth.
His dedication to physical fitness and self-improvement — which includes a two-decade-long sobriety run — along with his well-known healthy eating habits, all encompass an emphasis on mind, body, and spirit, he said.
“As members of the military, we must focus on the key principles of courage, perseverance, honesty and open-mindedness,” Leggett said. “These principles have helped me grow personally and professionally.”
Last month, Nevada Adjutant General, Brig. Gen. D. Rodger Waters, named Leggett as the Nevada National Guard’s sixth command senior enlisted leader (CSEL), replacing Chief Master Sgt. Cameron Pieters, who is set to retire after more than 30 years in the Nevada Air National Guard. A change of responsibility ceremony is set for 10 a.m. Saturday, Sept. 13, at the Nevada Air National Guard Base fuel cell hangar in Reno.
“As both the Army and Air National Guard continue to transform, CMSgt Leggett is the right person at the right time and the Nevada National Guard is fortunate to have him,” Waters said. “I have the utmost confidence that CMSgt Leggett will be very successful in this role.”
The CSEL serves as the principal advisor to the adjutant general on enlisted matters influencing the health, morale and professional development of Nevada National Guardsmen and women.
Nevada National Guard CSEL's through the years
- 2009 – 2013: Command Sgt. Maj. Steve Sitton
- 2013 – 2015: Command Chief Master Sgt. Rick Scurry
- 2015 – 2020: Command Sgt. Maj. Jered Kopacki
- 2020 – 2022: Command Sgt. Maj. Michael Spaulding
- 2022 – 2025: Command Chief Master Sgt. Cameron Pieters
- 2025 – present: Command Chief Master Sgt. Josh Leggett
Pieters, who enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1991, has served more than three years as the Nevada National Guard’s CSEL. Prior to becoming CSEL he served as the 152nd Operations Group (SEL). He’s deployed multiple times overseas as a flight engineer, also serving on the High Rollers' Modular Airborne Fire Fighting System (MAFFS) team.
“My career has taken me all over the world and provided me so many opportunities to connect with so many members of the Nevada Army and Air National Guard,” Pieters said. “Chief Master Sgt. Leggett brings a similar career pedigree to the position. The Nevada National Guard enlisted force will be in good hands with his leadership.”
“The command senior enlisted leader is a unique leadership role requiring a special partnership with the adjutant general, command chief warrant officer, and other key civilian and military leaders,” Waters said. “This partnership requires a trusting, personal relationship and I am grateful to have shared that trust with CMSgt Cameron Pieters. CMSgt Leggett and I have already developed a trusting relationship that is so important to continue building on the work that CMSgt Pieters, Chief Warrant Officer 5 Steve Nielsen and I started.”
Leggett, senior enlisted flight engineer with the 192nd Airlift Squadron and non-commissioned officer in charge of Nevada Counterdrug, knew from an early age that he wanted to join the military. His father, Jan Leggett, served in the 152nd Reconnaissance Group in Reno when the unit flew the F-101 Voodoo. His father also activated for service in South Korea during the Pueblo Crisis following North Korea’s seizure of the USS spy ship.
“As a kid, I would wear his uniform,” said Leggett, a graduate of Galena High School where he was on the ski team (giant slalom) and ran the 800 and 1600 meter in track. After high school, he attended the University of Nevada, Reno and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in political science. “I saw pictures of (my dad) in Korea and the friends he made, hearing those stories. I initially wanted to join the Marines, and he talked me out of it, thankfully. He told me about the Guard and going to school.”
Leggett always had a passion for aviation, saying he flew a Cessna 152 before he could legally drive a car.
“My mom drove me to the airport for my first flight with an instructor pilot,” Leggett said with a laugh.
Like many young men and women, Leggett admitted he navigated college with misguided direction. After briefly moving to southern California, he spoke with now Lt. Col. Alex Kassebaum in 2009 about a full-time position in the operations group in Reno.
“I knew he’d make a great flight engineer,” said Kassebaum, chief of wing plans, a United Airlines pilot, and former Reno Police Department officer. “He’s a great guy. He deserves all the accolades he gets.”
Leggett also committed to a life of sobriety in 2007 and has spent the past two decades promoting physical fitness as a Cross Fit instructor and coach at Reps4Recovery, a local nonprofit that supports people in substance abuse recovery with access and gym memberships in northern Nevada.
“(Before I got sober) I knew I wasn’t living up to my potential,” Leggett said. “Everything centered around drinking. I went for years without working out. At times I even began to question whether the world would be a better place without me. I owe everything good in my life to my sobriety.”
Today, Leggett is married to his wife, Savina Leggett, a nurse at Renown Hospital in Reno. They have a 3-year-old boy and a 1-year-old girl.
His career path includes six deployments, with tours in Africa, Afghanistan, Qatar, Germany and two times to Kuwait.
“You always get stressed about deployments before you leave, but when you are around the ops group, the stress goes away, because I know everyone I am going with,” he said. “They are my family. That is one of the coolest things about the Nevada National Guard. It’s like a second family.”
Leggett looks forward to working with both the Nevada Air and Army National Guard as the CSEL, something he already has experience doing from his work in Nevada Counterdrug for the past decade.
“He has an absolute passion and heart to ensure everything gets done correctly,” said Lt. Col. Merridy Young, Nevada Counterdrug coordinator and C-130 navigator. “I never have to worry about questioning is work whatsoever. His work is focused on making everyone better and what makes the organization better. He’s the quintessential enlisted Airman.”