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Although the crowds enjoy hearing the band, the band’s mission is not only to entertain and enlighten, said Sgt 1st Class Paul Baumgardt, 108th Army Band first sergeant.
“The mission of the band is to entertain people and make them feel pride and patriotism in the United States of America as well as the U.S. Army,” Baumgardt said.
Brining said their job is also to sustain warrior morale, inspire leaders, build good will with the local populace, perform at ceremonies and foster military pride.
“With all the bad news people hear, they may lose faith or patriotism and part of our job is to help renew patriotism in the world,” Brining said.
However, despite their typical mission of performing and providing a sense of patriotism to concertgoers and service members, bandleaders make it a point to consistently remind their members that they could be called upon to serve in a combat zone.
“We are constantly doing Soldier training along with our music training,” Brining said. “We blend training together to ensure we are physically fit and on top of our Soldier skills and Army warrior tasks and drills.”
Brining said that today’s Army bands are different than their predecessors. Modern bands mirror combat units in priding themselves on being more nimble and flexible to compensate for fewer personnel.
“When they go into country they are playing in the forward operating bases and performing, but at the same time conducting perimeter security, troop leading procedures for convoy movements so there is a lot of Soldiers tasks they do that is not just playing music,” Brining said.
The band does not just perform the traditional concert and ceremonial band instrumentation. Brining said members of the band also perform regularly in smaller popular, jazz and rock ensembles. The band’s mission matches current military doctrine: the creation of smaller, self-contained forces.
“We are always going to have large ensembles like concert and marching bands, but, in order to do more missions, we have to work in small music groups called musical performance teams,” Brining said. “For example, we have had the marching band, concert band, rock band, jazz band and the brass quartet all playing in different places in the same weekend.”
Brining said would-be Army band members must pass an audition, enlist, undergo basic training and attend the United States Army School of Music in Little Creek, Va.
“To be in an Army band you must have a skill level equivalent of an advanced high school or beginning college musician, preferably someone who has been selected in the past to be an all state musical ensemble,”
Baumgardt said. “Or if they are performers in a successful rock band in a civilian band, we will also look at that as a skill level.”
Once they pass these requirements they become members of the 108th Army Band, Arizona National Guard, located at Papago Park Military Reservation in Phoenix
The unit is comprised of citizen/soldiers who hold full-time professions as musicians, teachers, students, computer programmers, prison guards, small business owners, and construction and postal service workers, Brining said.
“From a leadership perspective it is really awesome because we have different backgrounds and different expertise coming together,” Brining said. “You can take all the assets from the diversity of the Soldiers and bring it together to benefit the unit.”
The men and women then become part of a long line of military band history
The 108th Army Band, organized in 1913 as the "Band, 1st Regiment Infantry," became the first unit drafted into Federal service in 1917.
“I am proud to be part of the 108th Army band and to have shared in the long lineage of this organization,” Baumgardt said.
Since then, they have continued to perform for every major National Guard Command in Arizona and for numerous concerts and parades in various communities throughout the state.
“We have become a tradition,” Brining said. “We have been doing some things so long that we have become a tradition in the state.”
Though a lineage dating back to 1913 is impressive, the band’s history extends even further to the creation of the first Army Band prior to the establishment of the United States.
From the drummers in the Revolutionary War and the brass bands of WWII, music has been a critical part of the Army's success.
“We were on the frontlines, and the Army Band program has Medal of Honor recipients from when they played on the frontlines,” Brining said.
The first American military band in the colonies was established in 1756 when the artillery regiment commanded by Col. Benjamin Franklin, marched with more than 1,000 men accompanied by fife-players and other musicians, Brining said.
More bands were formed during the Revolutionary war in 1775. Gen. George Washington, the first general of the U.S. Army and an accomplished flutist, ordered his musicians to attend regular training sessions with the regimental drum and fife majors.
“I am very proud of the role the Army band has played throughout history,” Baumgardt said. “For example, if you visit the Pearl Harbor Memorial you will see there were a number of musicians on the list who were assigned to the Battleship U.S.S. Arizona.”
In 1781 the Army created Soldier-musicians. Up to this point, musicians were exempt from Soldierly duties. These Soldier-musicians fought and played through the Civil War, War World I and II, Korea, and Vietnam, often flying into combat areas with instruments to perform pop concerts or military ceremonies when needed.
“We all are in the military and susceptible to attack and possible death or injury,” Baumgardt said. “I feel a sense of brotherhood to those musicians that have served oversees in harms way. And if I am ever called do so I am ready to take up the Soldier role too.”
Even today the Army bands continue to play a vital role in the Army, whether providing musical support for deployed troops, entertaining civilians around the world, or serving as musical ambassadors of the Army.
“We cater to everyone from kids to senior citizens. Everyone likes different styles of music, and we can custom and accommodate all of those styles,” Brining said. “We adapt to how things are progressing musically and we keep up with that musically and it resonates with the public.”
The 108th Army Band is currently seeking qualified Soldier-musicians.
“We are a generating force, so we don’t have a lot of time to rehearse because we are also doing Soldier tasks, but when it really comes down to crunch time this band comes together and plays beautifully,” Brining said.
| Date Taken: | 01.25.2017 |
| Date Posted: | 01.25.2017 14:11 |
| Story ID: | 221340 |
| Location: | PHOENIX, AZ, US |
| Web Views: | 67 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Today’s Band Continues Tradition of Excellence, by SGT Crystal Reidy, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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