Masters of Funk marks last show for 4th Special Troops Battalion

Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Angiene Hamilton | Jojo from the Mary Jane Girls, the Dazz Band and the Barkays Band, collectively known as the Masters of Funk, performed their final show in Iraq on Contingency Operating Base Adder, July 11.  

JOINT BASE BALAD, IRAQ

07.11.2011

Story by Sgt. Angiene Hamilton 

4th Sustainment Brigade

CONTINGENCY OPERATING BASE ADDER, Iraq — Military personnel deployed in support of Operation New Dawn were in for a treat when Jojo from the Mary Jane Girls, the Dazz Band and the Barkays Band, collectively known as the Masters of Funk, performed their final show in Iraq, July 11, on Contingency Operating Base Adder, Iraq.

The event not only marked the final show for the Masters of Funk, but it also marked the final Morale Welfare and Recreation event coordinated through the 4th Special Troops Battalion, 4th Sustainment Brigade, 310th Expeditionary Sustainment Command, as the unit prepares to transfer authority of the Mayor Cell mission to the 20th Engineer Brigade.

“It’s a bittersweet moment for me,” said 1st Lt. Bonita L. Graham, the Morale, Welfare and Recreation officer in charge with the 4th STB, and a Raleigh-Durham, N.C., native. “I had a ball working the MWR mission, but the time has come for us to hand this task over to the incoming unit. Tonight, I plan on enjoying our last show with the Masters of Funk and going out with a bang.”

Although this particular chapter was closed for the soldiers of the 4th STB, anticipation was high, as several soldiers from the unit arrived early to get a front row seat and waited for the performers to hit the stage.

“I grew up listening to this type of music, so I’m ready for the show to get started,” said Sgt. Frederick Midgette, a food service sergeant with the 4th STB, and a Greenville, N.C., native.

Sgt. Suzanne Samson, an administrative assistant for the directorate of logistics with the 4th STB, and a New York City native, appropriately dressed to play the hostess for the night in oversized sunglasses, an afro wig and hoop earrings.

“I’m so excited to be hosting this event,” said Samson. “I was there when the funk explosion was happening, so this is a dream for me.”
From start to finish, service members and civilians took to the dance floor as the Masters of Funk performed hit after hit in Memorial Hall.

“Morale was definitely high in the building when the performers hit the stage,” said Graham. “People got out [of] their seats and started dancing. It was nice to see everybody having a good time.”

Certificates of appreciation were handed out to all the performers at the end of the show by Samson and the non-commissioned officer in charge of the sponsoring unit, 77th Theater Aviation Brigade.

• Date Taken: 07.11.2011
• Date Posted: 07.24.2011 03:37
• Story ID: 74219
• Location: JOINT BASE BALAD, IQ