By Jim Dresbach, Pentagram Staff Writer
JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - Thirteen soldiers attached to The United States Army Band, "Pershing’s Own," raised their right hands and reenlisted in the Army during an Oct. 9 ceremony at Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall’s Brucker Hall.
The mass reenlistment encompassed many ensembles and support groups of TUSAB. Soldiers from the band’s public affairs office to the contemporary music group, "Downrange," to The U.S. Army Chorus signed on for continued ceremonial and goodwill missions.
Col. Thomas Palmatier, TUSAB commander, addressed the soldiers before the group took their oaths. He told them their re-ups cement and provide a solid foundation for Pershing’s Own’s future and the Army’s as well.
"I don’t look here and see a group of soldiers reenlisting; I look here and see what’s going to be the core, the backbone of Pershing’s Own, for ten, twenty years from now," Palmatier commented. "I see sergeants first class, master sergeants, sergeants major and command sergeants major of future years. That’s a great thing. What makes it special for us here; the Soldiers have that opportunity to see that happen. We will get to see these Soldiers become the core and the backbone of our unit."
The ceremony was witnessed by an additional 15 soldiers and friends of those reenlisting in the Brucker Hall lobby.