ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- It didn’t take long for Lt. Col. Rachel “Jessie” Chrash to develop a fondness for Tennessee.
Several years ago, Chrash was on a road trip from Washington, D.C., to Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama. Along the way, the then-captain stopped to spend a few days camping in the Great Smoky Mountains and exploring some of the outdoor activities the Volunteer State has to offer.
“Needless to say, I absolutely fell in love with the area,” Chrash said. “But, besides the beautiful countryside, having previously worked in test, I had heard about the hidden gem of a test site in middle Tennessee.”
The “hidden gem” to which Chrash referred is Arnold Air Force Base, and her long-standing hope for an assignment at the installation has now been realized.
With the Arnold Engineering Development Complex Mark I Test Facility space simulation chamber serving as the backdrop, Chrash assumed command of the 718th Test Squadron during a Change of Command ceremony, June 18, 2025, at Arnold AFB, headquarters of AEDC.
“I am so excited to be here,” Chrash said to the AEDC leaders, new colleagues and family members in attendance for the ceremony. “To express how excited I am, I wanted to start off by saying that I have been trying to come to Arnold Air Force Base for some time now.”
The 718 TS, part of the 804th Test Group, conducts component- and system-level testing of space and missile weapon systems across multiple test facilities.
“I can attest that Arnold’s reputation reverberates throughout the test community, providing world-class testing facilities and the technical expertise to accompany them,” Chrash said after accepting the guidon to assume command of the 718 TS.
Prior to her assignment at Arnold, Chrash served as program manager of Survivability Systems at the National Reconnaissance Office in Chantilly, Virginia. There, she directed a more-than-400-person development team executing a nearly-$600 million multi-domain research and demonstration program charged with advancing first-of-its-kind technology to increase space survivability for the Department of Defense and mission partners.
Chrash was commissioned into the Air Force in 2009 following her graduation from Officer Training School at Maxwell AFB. Her first assignment, which ran from October 2009 to December 2012 at Nellis Air Force Base, Nevada, was leading operational flight test for the HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter and to the Guardian Angel human weapon system in support of combat search and rescue operations.
From December 2012 through June 2016, Chrash served in various capacities, including tactical operations lead and deputy program manager, with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
She served as a student flight test engineer at the U.S. Air Force Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, California.
Chrash subsequently served in other roles before beginning her assignment with the National Reconnaissance Office, where she served as chief of the Systems Integration and Test Branch from July 2022 to January 2024.
Chrash earned her bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the Rochester Institute of Technology in New York, a Master of Science in systems engineering from Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Science in flight test engineering from Air University at Maxwell AFB.
Among her awards and decorations, Chrash has received the Meritorious Service Medal, Joint Service Commendation Medal, Joint Service Achievement Medal, Aerial Achievement Medal with three oak leaf clusters and Air Force Commendation Medal.
Chrash described the chance to lead the 718 TS team is the type of opportunity she has “dreamt about for years.”
“We are embarking on something incredible,” Chrash said. “We’re supporting the next generation of conflict survivable space systems. The chamber behind me is an artifact that represents the space race and Cold War with Russia while drawing a parallel to our current race for developing competitive technology to maintain space superiority.
“We, the 718th, have a challenging road ahead of us to deliver tested, combat-credible space systems, and I’m ready to get started.”