1st AD Band ready for march to Iraq

[unhappycamper]

1st AD Band ready for march to Iraq
By Kevin Dougherty, Stars and Stripes
Mideast edition, Monday, September 24, 2007

WIESBADEN, Germany — As the person in charge of his unit’s armory, Sgt. Jason Baker paid a visit Thursday to the small-arms shop on Wiesbaden Army Airfield.

Baker’s unit is leaving for Iraq over the next several days, and he needed to check a few things out with the gun guys.

“They were asking me, ‘What are you going to be doing down there?’ ” he said.

On the surface, that might seem like an odd question, given the enduring war and the fact Baker is a soldier. But he’s also a tuba player in the 1st Armored Division Band, which helps explain the note of disbelief at the arms shop.

~snip~

Besides playing for the troops, band members will help with force protection duties, Headley said. Additionally, some will assist intelligence officers in reviewing video surveillance material.


Rest of article at: http://stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=48993

[AnneD]

1. I f*#king don't believe it......

my daughter is in HS and an oboe player and for a while, we looked into the possibility of that as a career choice.

So, if you suffer head trauma or get a few fingers blown off will you get total disability. What a crock. These folks are hard to come by and yes, they are very well educated.

[NYVet]

2. Soldiers are soldiers and often have to do tasks not specifically trained for

If you don't like that, then how about pushing to get a larger army. (You and I both know that we aren't leaving Iraq any time soon).

[AnneD]

3. You're preaching to the choir here but....

by the same token, that is like doing away with the MASH unit and having the Docs and Nurses do patrol duty. Even in the height of WWII, bands were not expected to fight.

[rakeeb]

4. oddly, they are trained for this....

I admit back in the 90's I was a tad shocked to learn from a bugler (on loan from the 101st Div Band for a funeral detail) that the division band's wartime mission is security for for the division TOC, and trained as such quarterly.
BTW, I also learned that many musicians at division level weren't MOS musicians, but rather applied for the band from infantry, finance, enlisted records, etc. The above mentioned bugler was a diesel generator mechanic.

[AnneD]

5. The musicians I have met....

came IN as musicians. Five years ago we saw the Band of the SW (Air Force)and really looked into it. They even gave an extra stipend for certain instruments (my daughter and her oboe fit into that catagorie).

Doc's and Nurses are wanted for those unique skill sets that they posess (like musician). Yeah, they go through a kind of basic (which is the working end of the gun, proper way to put on your uniform and return a salute), but the military wants what is between the ears and it takes years to grow a Doc or Nurse. Yeah, I am a Nurse and I went through basic before I became a Nurse. I am sure they want my nursing skills before they want my sharpshooting skills.

Oh, wait. We,re talking common sense, effective use of resources, and the military. Never Mind:blush:

[rakeeb]

6. Air Force band

Sounds like a different animal, can't really say if they have a similar "wartime" mission.
When I enlisted in the Army in 1993 as an 11B, the highest bonus they had for first termers was "oboe player,"
the recruiter actully asked me if I played an instrument!?!?!?!??!

[AnneD]

7. We caught a performance while they were touring....

we asked if we could chat with them during the intermission. Of course they were thrilled to see a young oboe player in the middle of a desert tour and they were so nice to us. It really wasn't a bad deal and the first chair oboe player was so fresh out of school that my daughter could relate.
An oboe player is one of the highest bonuses that they pay for. Which is my point-why would you waste that which is sometimes so hard to find.