Niagara Falls Gulf War veterans gather at squadron

by Tech. Sgt. Andrew Caya
914th Airlift Wing Public Affairs

3/17/2014 - NIAGARA FALLS AIR RESERVE STATION, N.Y. -- Prior to the March Unit Training Assembly here, a few of the 328th Airlift Squadron Airmen noticed something about their wingmen attending a routine intelligence brief.

"During the brief we looked around and we noticed we had the highest number of Desert Storm veterans attending," said Lt. Col. Glen Moore, a 328th AS standards and evaluation officer.

In the 328th AS building there is an honor roll with a list of all the Airmen who served in the first Gulf War in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Out of approximately 80 names, the number of those Airmen still in the unit is close to the single digits, said Moore.

"I've been here for nearly 30 years," said Lt. Col. J.R. Cupples, a 328th AS C-130 navigator. "I pass that list frequently and I am always noticing the names of the Airmen who have left."

Cupples said through all his years here he has seen many changes, not only of the names of the men and women he served with, but of the Air Force Reserve as a whole.

"It was an interesting time back then," said Cupples. He said he was able to witness the reserve transition from inactive to the operational reserve junior Airmen are familiar with now.

Although the list of names is shrinking on the squadron honor roll, the camaraderie is still there, say many of the Airmen.

"Being with people this long is no different than being with your family. You're around them all the time so they start to become like family," said Moore.