 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2010-09-05 01:33
lol. That's ok. He can keep his job, I'll keep mine.
Alexi Agosto
US Army Signal Corps Band
Clarinetist
US Army Japan Band
Post Edited (2010-09-05 01:38)
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Author: Paul Aviles
Date: 2010-09-07 17:22
Ok, this is a retelling of the Washington Post article that came out a week or so ago. The "point" is that US tax payers are losing money hand over fist paying for military music ensembles (implying that it COULD be spent on counter insurgency or some such matter of MORE import).
Clearly one weapons system (and I mean ONE plane) represents the budget for all the bands in all the services for tens of years.........really.
There was one point that should be made clear before it's repeated AGAIN (which I'm sure it will be). The Army Band program lists separate MPTs (stands for Musical Support Teams which have been referenced in these rants to imply even further numbers and hence further waist). Everyone needs to know that these "teams" are being pulled FROM a band (of lets say about 40) Each band can field four or more MPTs from the pool of 40 players with some players playing double duty in several MPTs. These ARE NOT additional teams to the core number of 40, just different groups you can make, such as a rock MPT, a country MPT, a jazz MPT and a ceremonial MPT.
As I've said before, the benefits of having military musicians FAR outweighs the nominal cost to the tax payer. And yes, you CAN feel safer with bandsmen that DO deploy to both Afghanistan and Iraq.
....................Paul Aviles
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2010-09-07 17:33
Paul Aviles wrote:
> As I've said before, the benefits of having military musicians
> FAR outweighs the nominal cost to the tax payer. And yes, you
> CAN feel safer with bandsmen that DO deploy to both Afghanistan
> and Iraq.
Hmmm ... as a former member of the USN (8 years), all I can remember of military bands is that they were a nuisance if they were onshore when I got back from a long deployment. Meant some brass were around and wanted to impress the rest of the world with their importance, and we wouldn't be let off the ship until the band stopped playing. Other than that, they were invisible. I never felt any safer off of Vietnam knowing that bandsmen were around somewhere ...
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2010-09-07 17:54
On the other hand, if we sold band instruments rather than weapons, the world would be a safer place...
--
Ben
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Author: Mark Charette
Date: 2010-09-07 18:19
tictactux wrote:
> On the other hand, if we sold band instruments rather than
> weapons, the world would be a safer place...
>
And I'd be out of a job again ...
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2010-09-07 20:26
True Mark, but we're "service support". There's the people who go out thre and do the fighting, and the people that support that. Administration, chaplains and staff, CID, Public Affairs Personnel (the people writing articles for military journals and blogs), the radio show announcers, and the band. Our job isn't really to make you feel "safer" when you're out there, but more to provide a brief, but sometimes very needed "break" from the combat life and training with a few live tunes and get your mind off of death and destruction. Much like the USO shows, except we're on call to do that all the time.
Plus it's military tradition. And the military LOVES it's traditions. Taps every night, Revellie every morning, and marching bands at changes of command.
Alexi
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Author: DAVE
Date: 2010-09-07 20:47
Hooah Alexi. Well said.
Just like the cheapness of a recording of taps at a funeral, a ceremony without a band would be unthinkable for most ceremonies. Promotion ceremonies are important steps in the careers of officers; they often remark on the importance of the band. There is something inherently "military" about having the band... the same can be said for the presentation of the colors.
As for feeling safe, etc... many band personnel are deployed and do a lot more than just play their instruments. So this business about "fighting terrorism one jazz band at a time" is ridiculous. Just the other day I was laying sandbags around Fort Monroe to help against the coming hurricane....
just sayin..
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Author: in2data
Date: 2010-09-11 08:15
Twenty four years in the Air Force and I could see one band per service. Otherwise it's a waste of money.
Really, the military is there to do one thing and that's to protect you and me.
There are a lot of military "traditions" that waste a lot of money like single sourcing a jet engine so it provides jobs in a powerful senators' state.
We wonder why we run such huge deficits and never think it's because we all want to eat our cake and have it to.
Grow up!
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2010-09-11 12:17
"Really, the military is there to do one thing and that's to protect you and me." True. But it's a bit "cut and dry" with that explanation. So if school is supposed to be a place to only educate your kids for college and life after graduation, we could save money by no longer having school sponsored functions. No more dances, no more school sports teams, no schools offering/making lunches. Lunches is a job for parents/guardians, sports the family can pay the city to enter in a non-scholastic league, and dances they can form on their own time. Certainly a waste of my taxes especially since I don't have kids.
I mean if that's the case, it's a gross oversimplification, but then there are many other things that will have to be cut out of the military in addition to music if we were to look at it as, 'Does it help to protect me? Or not?'. Countless other army programs designed around morale would have to go. No more BOSS (better opportunities for single soldiers) sponsored trips to get people out of the barracks. No more Public Affairs or army sponsored articles/news stories. If the army wants to celebrate 50 years of this, the birth of that, etc. etc. Nope. Really, it's a waste. And we can't print it and put it out in our no longer needed post newspapers.
Going back to bands in general, if we were to do away with just the bands, you can't think that the army would just stop celebrating these occasions. Or that they'd just stop having ceremonies. Just in this case, they'd hire musicians or a DJ for each and every event. And considering that these jobs go to the "lowest bidder", chances are they'd be overpaying to get those people. Then you've also just lost lots of personnel who DO serve extra functions while deployed. While I was deployed, much to my chagrin, I was taking care of a military weightlifting gym. Without the band as (unfortunately in this case) "extra bodies", instead of paying me my salary as an E5 to take care of it, they'd have quite possibly pay civilians twice as much to do the same job. I used to joke that I was the "highest paid gym attendant ever". But not when you compare me to the guy who was in charge of laundry for our living pad. He was a civilian making 6 figures to make sure that our clothes were washed and returned.
Maybe over time bands and other things WILL be phased out. But it will STILL be at a cost. Not a monetary cost, however try to get someone signing up for the army and getting them to STAY in without having scheduled breaks from army life. I personally was told many times while playing overseas that they were happy to hear us. And when playing some dixie tunes in the DFAC overseas, and asking for requests, when you get the response, "Anything. Just keep playing," it makes me think that maybe there IS a purpose. We made people smile and get a well-deserved break from their job helping to protect us. And when you play some music and see a female colonel start crying because she was so homesick she was extremely grateful to hear music from New Orleans, I start thinking that maybe I REALLY helped her out. And now she's able to focus a little better on her job and managing troops because she was able to get a little reminder of her culture and that she WILL eventually get back to her home.
Alexi
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