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Gen. Mike Minihan, Commander of Air Mobility Command, visits the Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station June 8, 2024.

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Family Ties Strengthen Generational Service at Niagara Falls Air Reserve Station

  • Published
  • By SMSgt. Andrew Caya
  • 914th Air Refueling Wing
NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, NY --   Lt. Col. Christopher J. “CJ” Pfeil Jr, former 914th Operations Group Commander celebrated his final flight in April after nearly 30 years of service in the 914th Air Refueling Wing. This is the end of nearly 80 years of combined service for the Pfeil family at Niagara, a testament to how family ties enhance service in the Air Force Reserve.

“We considered it an honor to serve our country, and it was in our blood,” said Pfeil’s father Senior Master Sgt (Ret.) Christopher J. Pfeil Sr., a former 914th C-130 loadmaster.

Christopher’s journey began when his brother, Col. (Ret) Robin Pfeil introduced him to the Air Force, a legacy he later passed to CJ. The trio’s overlapping service at the 914th, including six years with his son in the same squadron, created a tight-knit dynamic and improving service of their fellow airmen.

CJ, a C-130 pilot at the time, recalled the profound impact of serving with his father during a 2003 deployment to Tabuk, Saudi Arabia.

The father and son slept just two tents apart, shared daily coffee and leveraged their construction backgrounds to build infrastructure, with Christopher operating a bulldozer and CJ running a front-end loader.

“They said here's a desert. Go build yourself a base,” said Christopher. “The Air Force sent only 25 people from civil engineering to build a base for 4000 people… our units had people with trade experience. When we were not flying, we chose to operate the heavy equipment, to put in the roads, the system, putting in sewer lines, septic tank, water lines.”

Improving the quality of life did not stop at austere locations. The family-oriented culture at Niagara extended beyond the Pfeil’s.

Robin Pfeil, former Vice Commander of the 914th, noted the base’s history of multi-generational service. “One of the flight surgeons, had five of his kids in the unit,” he said. There are many airmen who join the unit because of their parents; he said of multiple families.

This familial atmosphere fosters a sense of ownership, as Robin felt early in his career. “I took ownership of the base. It was my base,” he recalled, inspired by a squadron commander who flew cross-country for unit training assemblies and rallied with the community to keep the base open during Base Realignment and Closure eras.

That ownership mentality coursed though many Niagara Airmen. When the unit converted from tactical airlift in the C-130 to air refueling in the KC-135, instead of leaving, most airmen took on new responsibilities in their unit due to the familial and “my base” mentality.

“We did have people leave during our conversion for various reasons,” said CJ. “Some of them like Navigators for example did not have a position in the KC-135. However, we sent five of them to pilot training since they also wanted to stay. As passionate as I am about flying the C-130, I am more passionate about the people at the 914th and Western New York.”

The 914th’s tight-knit community drives exceptional commitment. CJ witnessed “countless sacrifices” from airmen.

“Our Airmen are consistently volunteering to deploy, taking missions that no one in their right mind would take but they do it because it had to be done,” said CJ. “I watch instructor pilots stay after hours to help ready the new pilots. Our ground personnel and maintainers are second to none. In deployed locations we would sometimes have to fly other units aircraft and the way our folks take pride in our aircraft just doesn’t compare. I was never so proud to serve with such brave, altruistic men and women.”

For Christopher, the Air Force instilled discipline and lifelong camaraderie. “It’s a lifetime brotherhood,” he said, noting he still meets with squadron mates eight or nine times a year, 20 years after retiring.

He advises families of service members to embrace the military’s opportunities, from learning history to earning college benefits and seeing the world. “They would learn a lot about military history, and at the same time, they would work towards getting part of their college or their college career paid for,” he said.

CJ, who recently transitioned to a new military role, expressed the difficulty of leaving Niagara. “Leaving here and going on to another job is one of the hardest things I’ve ever done. I feel such a sense of belonging here,” he said. His passion for the people of Western New York and the 914th’s mission underscores the unit’s unique spirit.

“There is just something special about the people of Niagara. They help bring each other to new levels and support one another like the second family,” he added.