Photo By Sgt. 1st Class James Braswell | U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Brandyn Taylor, a saxophone musician with the 116th Army Band,...... read more read more
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U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Brandyn Taylor, a saxophone musician with the 116th Army Band, 78th Troop Command, Georgia Army National Guard, was honored for his unique contributions while collaborating with the Georgia Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion. He received the Georgia Meritorious Service Medal during the Recruiting and Retention Battalion’s annual Centurion Gala held November 18, 2023, in Atlanta, Ga.
Taylor is no stranger to collaboration. Musicians often require collaboration to blend and harmonize melodies when playing music. For leaders and organizations, collaboration is necessary to solve problems.
The problem for the 116th Army Band was that the unit needed full strength.
At full strength, the 116th Army Band consists of one warrant officer and 36 enlisted personnel, or 37 Soldiers. When Taylor became the unit’s full-time administrative non-commissioned officer in April 2023, the unit was at less than 70 percent full strength.
“We didn’t have the personnel to be effective at covering all of our missions,” Taylor said.
The 116th Army Band actively performs in the Metro Atlanta area and around the state of Georgia. From October 2022 to September 2023, the unit performed 46 concerts, including a collaboration with Lassiter High School’s chorus for their annual Veteran’s Day concert in Marietta, Ga. The 116th Army Band consists of a concert band, ceremonial band, brass quintet, saxophone quartet, jazz band, jazz combo band and rock band.
Because of the unit’s high number of missions and low number of personnel, Taylor began to strategize how to increase the unit’s personnel numbers.
His first action was putting together a team to brainstorm ideas. One of their first ideas was putting together a list of music educators in Georgia, allowing them to connect with senior high school and college musicians.
Luckily, Taylor already had connections in the Georgia University System, as he served as a saxophone instructor at Georgia State University from 2016 to 2023. He also graduated with a bachelor’s in music performance from Columbus State University and a master’s in music performance from Georgia State University.
Taylor then contacted Staff Sgt. Alex Marroquin, a recruiter with 1st Team, Alpha Company, Recruiting and Retention Battalion, Georgia Army National Guard in Carrollton, Ga., to help fine-tune his presentation. Taylor said that this relationship helped kick-start the 116th Army Band and the Recruiting & Retention Battalion collaboration.
“We had a mutual friend and he reached out wanting to improve his presentation,” said Marroquin. “Once we started working together it helped open a lot of doors for both of our organizations.”
Taylor took it to Georgia high schools and universities, allowing Taylor to connect with band students, while also opening doors for recruiters to meet with prospective Georgia Army National Guard recruits.
Command Sgt. Maj. Jennifer Cogburn, the senior enlisted leader for the Georgia Army National Guard Recruiting and Retention Battalion, said that this relationship has significantly benefited the entire Georgia Army National Guard.
“Staff Sgt. Taylor’s influence and experience has led to the success that he’s been able to provide towards the readiness for the state and for the recruiting and retention battalion’s mission,” said Cogburn. “We all have our experience in the Georgia Army National Guard, and he’s been using his story to bring others into our organization.”
Since April 2023, Taylor has facilitated and coordinated 42 recruiting events for the 116th Army Band and has added over 300 music educators to his contact list. During the same period, the Recruiting and Retention Battalion has successfully enlisted 14 new musicians for the 116th Army Band, along with many other leads and successful enlistments for other jobs within the Georgia Army National Guard.
“The band has the power to be force multipliers in the Georgia Army National Guard,” said Taylor. “I’m really proud that we are taking that step to be just that through this collaboration with recruiting and retention.”
Because of his dedication and collaboration, the Recruiting and Retention Battalion recognized him with an award and named him an honorary recruiter. “We truly appreciate the effort that Staff Sgt. Taylor has contributed,” said Cogburn.
Taylor says that the unit still faces challenges when recruiting new musicians into the organization. Musicians who want to join the 116th Army Band must meet the Army’s enlistment requirements and pass the Army Musician Proficiency Assessment. The assessment requires musicians to pass a 36-point rubric with a score of 18 or more.
“There’s a lot of preparation that goes into a musician taking and passing the exam,” Taylor said. “Not only that, but you’re also looking at a specific population within a small population that is interested in joining the military.”
At the end of the day, Taylor is optimistic that the 116th Army Band and the Georgia Army National Guard will continue with their current success. Marroquin said that if anyone can do it, Taylor can.
“One of Staff Sgt. Taylor’s greatest qualities is that he’s personable,” Marroquin said. “He’s been in the position of many of the students that he comes across and wants to see them succeed while seeing our organization grow.”
| Date Taken: | 11.22.2023 |
| Date Posted: | 11.22.2023 11:32 |
| Story ID: | 458432 |
| Location: | MARIETTA, GEORGIA, US |
| Web Views: | 572 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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