Courtesy Photo | Staff Sgt. Timothy Storly, right, of Mitchell, S.D., a member of the South Dakota Army...... read more read more
Staff Sgt. Timothy Storly, of Mitchell, a member of the South Dakota Army National Guard’s 147th Army Band, was named a recipient of the Col. Finley R. Hamilton Military Outstanding Musician Award.
The award acknowledges U.S. Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard enlisted musicians, and honors the memory of Col. Finley R. Hamilton, U.S. Army (retired), who succumbed to cancer while serving as president of the National Band Association.
Recipients of this distinguished award exhibit outstanding musical and leadership excellence.
Storly enlisted into the SDARNG as a trombone player in 1999.
“I didn’t join the Guard until after I had already graduated college and was a high school band director,” Storly said. “At the time, I looked at it as a great opportunity to perform music and have to admit I was excited to finally put on the uniform. For many years I had considered an active military career.”
In 2004, an active military career became reality when Storly accepted a fulltime position as the 147th Army Band’s unit supply sergeant. In addition to his fulltime responsibilities, he continued performing with the trombone and became the noncommissioned officer in charge of a performance team.
The 147th Army Band has seven different performance teams, which include: the 147th Concert Band; the 147th Marching Band; Black Ops (eclectic pop and easy listening); Drive On (popular music ranging from country to pop); FTX (horn-line, vocal, and rhythm-section group); Mission Essential Brass (brass group), and SGT Rock (popular music ranging from pop to classic rock).
Demonstrating his outstanding musical talent, Storly earned his C1 additional skill identifier at the U.S. Army School of Music while attending Senior Leader Course.
“A Charlie One (C1) certification means he’s one of the best players in the Army,” said Chief Warrant Officer 4 Terry Beckler, commander of the 147th Army Band. “That certification means he would be qualified to play in the premiere Army Band.”
But Storly doesn’t see himself leaving the 147th Army Band anytime soon.
“These days, I see the single most appealing aspect of the Army Band is the people I serve with,” Storly said. “We know each other so well, like family. We don’t leave that behind when we walk out the door on Sunday following closing formation either.”
Throughout the month, Storly said band members communicate with each other. Sometimes it’s to iron out details on a piece of music they’re working on at home, other times it’s just because they really care about how everyone is doing.
“In the band, we encourage and affirm each other,” Storly said. “There have been times when I’ve needed that kind of support. It’s become about the people. You can’t force that. It just happens when great Soldiers are together doing something they love.”
Since receiving his C1 certification, Storly has taken it upon himself to learn other instruments so that he can lead another of the 147th’s Music Performance Teams. He’s now playing guitar and leading Black Ops, which plays for both military and civilian functions.
“Being such a strong musician and leader in our unit, we thought he’d be a great candidate to submit for this award,” Beckler said. “He’s one of the best musicians in the Army Band program. It’s nice that we have him in South Dakota.”
“I was shocked to receive this award because I’m surrounded by a unit full of talented and inspiring musicians,” said Storly. “To have a Soldier from the South Dakota National Guard selected for this is huge.”
The commander agreed and said the 147th Army Band is made up of several musicians that are of that caliber.
“I feel pretty lucky,” said Beckler.
| Date Taken: | 02.24.2016 |
| Date Posted: | 02.24.2016 18:30 |
| Story ID: | 189999 |
| Location: | MITCHELL, SD, US |
| Web Views: | 137 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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