SWANTON, Vt. – After 31 years of dedicated service, Swanton Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Pfeifer has retired from the U.S. Border Patrol.
Chief Pfeifer began his career in Uvalde, TX after entering on duty with the agency on August 11, 1986, as a member of Academy Class 200. Agent Pfeifer has served in a broad range of supervisory and management positions throughout his career, including service as a Special Agent with the Swanton Sector Anti-Smuggling Unit, Patrol Agent in Charge of the Newport Station, Assistant Chief Patrol Agent in Swanton Sector, Deputy Chief Patrol Agent in Rio Grande Valley Sector and Associate Chief at the United States Border Patrol Headquarters in Washington, D.C. Agent Pfeifer accepted his promotion to Chief Patrol Agent of the Swanton Sector on December 5, 2010.
Chief Patrol Agent John Pfeifer
“It has been my honor to serve as the Chief Patrol Agent for the past seven years,” said Pfeifer. “I look forward to spending time with my family, knowing that the men and women of the Swanton Sector will continue the tradition of integrity, vigilance, and service to country that keeps this nation safe.”
Agent Pfeifer’s government service commenced in the U.S. Military in 1981, with the U.S. Marine Corps Reserves until his honorable discharge in 1986. Agent Pfeifer holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Economics from Saint Michael’s College in Colchester, Vermont and completed the Harvard University-JFK School’s Senior Managers in Government Program in 2008.
Agent Pfeifer has received numerous awards to include the Secretary’s Award for Team DHS Excellence (Operation Jumpstart) and the Commissioner’s Excellence in Group Award. Most notable, Agent Pfeifer received the Commissioner’s Newton-Azrak Award for Heroism, the Border Patrol Purple Cross Medal, a U.S. Congressional Law Enforcement Award, the Vermont State Police Purple Heart and Combat Cross Ribbons and the New Hampshire State Police Medal of Merit. These five distinguished awards were all presented to Agent Pfeifer for his acts of heroism in the involvement of the 1997 Colebrook, New Hampshire incident where Carl Drega killed four people. Agent Pfeifer was involved in the manhunt for Drega and was subsequently shot by him in a gunfight. Agent Pfeifer recovered from his wounds and went on to continue his career in the Border Patrol for more than 20 years.
Deputy Chief Patrol Agent Robert Garcia is currently serving as the Acting Chief Patrol Agent of Swanton Sector.
The Swanton Sector is responsible for securing the land border between ports of entry in Vermont, New Hampshire and northeastern New York. The assistance of citizens is invaluable to their border security mission and they welcome community members to help them keep our nation’s borders safe and report suspicious activity at 1-800-689-3362.
For more on Customs and Border Protection’s mission at our nation’s ports of entry with CBP officers and along U.S. borders with Border Patrol agents, please visit the Border Security section of the CBP website.