Courtesy Photo | Sgt. David Rivera, a native of Columbus, Ga., who serves as a bugler with the 4th...... read more read more
By Spc. Douglas York
Multi-National Division - Baghdad
CAMP LIBERTY, Iraq - Most people take a job hoping to make a living, provide for their families and to become successful. Likewise, every Soldier hopes his or her contributions will add to the overall success of the mission.
Day in and day out, most Soldiers complete their duties to the best of their abilities and realize that, at the end of the day, what they did is a well-executed, small part of the mission's larger picture.
The bugle players from Multi-National Division – Baghdad's 4th Infantry Division band face an unusual dilemma, however, because the proper execution of their particular skills and contribution to the overall mission only occurs as the result of the death of a fellow MND-B Soldier.
"If there are a lot of mishaps, and the mission is not going as planned, then unfortunately we are really busy," said Staff Sgt. David Cotti, a native of Mesa, Ariz., who serves as the bugle section leader with the 4th Inf. Div. Band. "When the mission is going well, then we tend to not be working so much – which is good," he added.
Cotti and his fellow buglers have the unfortunate and often daunting task of playing "Taps" at the memorial ceremonies for the division, leaving on a moment's notice at times to play the final respects for fallen comrades and those attending the services.
"It's something that has to be done as it gives closure and the proper respects that they deserve for paying the ultimate sacrifice out here," Cotti said. "It's so emotional out there, and nobody else in the band gets to experience this but us. We take a lot of pride in what we do, and every time we go out there, it needs to be perfect."
These sentiments are not lost on 1st Sgt. Jeremy Smelser, the band's senior enlisted leader, who is a native of Killeen, Texas, and is in his second year with the band.
"They're a special breed, even within the band field," Smelser said, about the buglers. "Some of them are young, 19-year-old trumpet players, who have to grab their gear, meet some folks that they probably don't know down at the helipad, jump on a helicopter and just show up and play Taps.
"I don't know that any of us even understand what goes though their minds," he added, alluding to the effect the mission can have on the bugler's mental state.
These mental road-blocks are something all of the buglers must overcome if they are to do their important missions well, regardless of the circumstances they are asked to perform them under.
"I feel it's an important job, but it's also something that you don't want to do," said Sgt. David Rivera, a native of Columbus, Ga., and one of Cotti's standout troops. "If you have to go on a mission, if you have to play 'Taps,' it means that someone went down," he added, noting the sobering connection of his job to the division's overall success.
Cotti added to those same feelings, telling a story from his time as a bugler prior to joining the 4th Inf. Div. Band, where he was asked to play the final respects for a fallen Soldier at a national cemetery in Houston. He recalled overhearing a little boy asking his mother where his father was.
"I could hear him, he was saying, 'Where's daddy? Where's daddy?' and it was rough because that's why we were there, to play and render honors for him [the child's father]," Cotti said.
He went on to tell another story about a memorial, during his current deployment, in the Rustamiyah neighborhood of Baghdad.
"We got shelled during the ceremony, right before I was going to play 'Taps,'" he said. Cotti had to hop in a bunker, wait for the explosions to stop and then continue with his mission right after being mortared.
Things like that can take their toll on any Soldier, let alone a bugler, and it can, at times, be a mindset that the group has to be aware of and not succumb to.
"When you are doing a lot of memorials, it can weigh on you and your emotional state is out-of-sorts. You know what you are doing; you're going on a mission to render honors to a fellow Soldier who has paid the ultimate sacrifice," Cotti said. "It's also very humbling, and it's an honor to be there doing this."
Thankfully, the buglers have not had to play many memorials since earlier this year. In fact, at various times throughout the year since April, several weeks have passed when they haven't had to play a single bar of "Taps," which is a direct reflection upon the Ironhorse Division's overall success.
"[It's been] just sort of calm, like everything is going well from a Soldier's perspective," Smelser said. "From our perspective, you can definitely correlate how well things are going based on how busy our buglers are."
Rivera, however, does his best to take a different view of a bugler's mission and attempts to focus on the task at hand rather than the whole picture.
"I really don't think about the big picture too much," Rivera said. "When I get notified that I have a mission, I just try to focus on that. I don't really try to equate it into the big picture, just focus on what I have to do," he added.
Leaning on and learning from each other also helps the group to ensure they keep their mental state-of-being as high as they possibly can. Several are college graduates with master's and bachelor's degrees, generally in music. Several score very high on the Army Physical Fitness Test, and several of them immerse themselves in their craft as a way to stay focused on the mission.
"I just focus on taking care of my guys, making sure everybody has what they need, and they take care of me just as much as I take care of them," Cotti said. "Their accomplishments are my accomplishments," he added.
Love and respect go both ways between Cotti and his troops. Rivera and Smelser were quick to praise him and credit him for setting the group's tempo.
"He is very motivated. I would say that he sets the right example and is the epitome of professionalism. He always sets the example tactically and technically on the horn," Rivera said.
"As an NCO [non-commissioned officer], and as a leader, he's phenomenal, along with Sgt. Rivera. It's like I said, they're a unique breed and he's the epitome of that," Smelser said. "Even within the band he stands out. He could be an infantry Soldier, and he would be just fine. He's got that mindset."
Throughout the remainder of their deployment, Cotti and his comrades will earnestly work toward perfecting their craft and do the best job they know how, even if it means the circumstances aren't the best.
"Even though it's hard to deal with, as buglers, you can never complain about what you do," Cotti said. "Even if I had to do one hundred memorials in a month, each one would be done to perfection every time. It means so much to us that we render the proper military honors for our troops out here. We put everything we have into it. We put our soul into it."
While none of the buglers would ever actively seek a memorial mission to pass the time away, Cotti and his group will always stay focused on their mission, paying proper respects to the fallen Soldiers and their families – and staying tight-knit as a team.
| Date Taken: | 08.20.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 08.20.2008 09:43 |
| Story ID: | 22686 |
| Location: | BAGHDAD, IQ |
| Web Views: | 59 |
| Downloads: | 43 |
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