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All,

It is a sad day for the USAF Band Program. Today, Air Force leadership announced it has decided to deactivate three active duty bands (The Band of Liberty from Hanscom AFB in Massachusetts, The Band of the Air Force Reserve at Robbins AFB in Georgia, and the Band of the Pacific-NW in Elmendorf AFB in Anchorage, AK) along with severely downsizing two other bands (The Heartland of America Band at Offut AFB in Omaha, NE and The Band of Flight from Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton, OH) from 45 people to 15 people. These changes are to be implemented by the end of September 2013.

Here is the article from the Air Force Material Command's website of the official anouncement
:
http://www.afmc.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123292726" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank" target="_blank

Of course, this is very soon after the announcement has been made, so things can change. As a former member of the Band of Liberty, it is extremely saddening to hear of this news.

Regards,
SCS

I love the new euphemism "ongoing service-wide search for efficiencies". We used to call that a RIF (reduction in force). A rose by any other name, it is the pendulum swinging back yet again. At least the article says that "Personnel from bands being deactivated or downsized will be reassigned to other Air Force regional bands as the band career field's attrition rate should absorb the restructure's reduction of 103 positions Air Force wide." , so nobody is getting the boot (right away). But then the Air Force is notorious for the infamous "palace chases".

Good luck to all of 'em

I played in the Band of the Air Force Reserve in the 90's. I can't say I'm surprised in the cuts, but it is a little bit of a bummer that the bands ( which I'd guess are a minuscule part of the budget ) are going to take the hit.

In addition to the band concerts, the musicians in the Band of Liberty also play in smaller groups. On Saturday I saw the Bay State Winds, which is a clarinet quartet made of members of the band. It was a fine concert presented by first-rate players. I'm assuming all these smaller groups will disappear with the band.

Hup

hup_d_dup wrote:In addition to the band concerts, the musicians in the Band of Liberty also play in smaller groups. On Saturday I saw the Bay State Winds, which is a clarinet quartet made of members of the band. It was a fine concert presented by first-rate players. I'm assuming all these smaller groups will disappear with the band.

Hup

Yes, because if a band/unit/base is deactivated, the command group, performing groups, and support staff all go away.

Here's a link of all the smaller groups made from members of the USAF Band of Liberty:

http://www.bandofliberty.af.mil/ensembles/index.asp" target="_blank" target="_blank

What a loss.

Hup

The Band of the Air Force Reserve has a Bag Pipe Band that was very much in demand. I had the privilege of being the flourishing tenor drum during my time there. I thought I read that it had broken off as a separate unit from the band and few years back, but I don't know if that saved it from the axe or not.

I live in Dayton (guess one can see that from my username) and the cuts to the Band Of Flight here seem really inappropriate. WPAFB is an extremely large installation, and in addition to that, also is the home of the USAF Museum (well worth a visit if you have never been there), the host site for the Air Force Marathon, and was the host site for the Dayton Peace Accords. The Band Of Flight has been a community fixture in the Dayton area for many years, and the band was a superb unit. They did the whole spectrum - concert band literature, regimental music, swing, jazz, rock, vocals, ensembles, etc. What a sad thing to see them cut to such a minimal level. I wish the people who think of such cuts could have heard them - combined with the Dayton Philharmonic Orchestra - perform at the Air Force Museum to an audience of thousands (as I recall, I ended up sitting in the shadow of B-52 bomber) that were not only wildly appreciative of the excellent musical performance, but walked out with the firm belief that the good old USA was still in pretty good shape. I most fervently hope our local congressmen get involved in this.

What will happen to the musicians in the deactivated or downsized bands?

Of course there are no scheduled staff or benefit reductions for unionized civilian D.O.D. employees!

Hmmm?? Maybe the armed forces should unionize!

Kevin Miller wrote: Hmmm?? Maybe the armed forces should unionize!

http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/10/976" target="_blank

goldenmoose wrote:What will happen to the musicians in the deactivated or downsized bands?

The other USAF bands will absorb the musicians and equipment from the deactivated or downsized units.

Yes, I am well aware of the fact that the military can't unionize. I wanted to highlight the irony of the union personnel experiencing NO BENEFIT CUTS OR STAFF REDUCTIONS as compared to those in the military who have no voice or representation to plead their case.

Kevin Miller wrote:Of course there are no scheduled staff or benefit reductions for unionized civilian D.O.D. employees!

Kevin Miller wrote:I wanted to highlight the irony of the union personnel experiencing NO BENEFIT CUTS OR STAFF REDUCTIONS as compared to those in the military who have no voice or representation to plead their case.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/30/us/po ... reeze.html
. . . government-wide civilian pay freeze here.
http://www.af.mil/news/story_print.asp?id=123278268
9,000 Air Force civilians there . . .
http://www.wickedlocal.com/burlington/n ... z1p8RtB2cD
. . . plus another 4,500 Air Force civilians losing their job this year . . .
http://www.army.mil/article/62939/
8,700 Army civilians losing their jobs by Sep. 30,2012 . . . and those are just the Armed Services I could find with a quick Google search. Heaping hatred upon Air Force civilian employees will not save those Air Force Bands. Our armed forces are making the hard decisions required in tough times. If you were one of them, would you feel the same way?

The Air Force budget was cut deep. The JROTC unit at my school was cut from $98 per cadet per year last year (covers uniform, pt uniform, jrotc functions, field trips, drill team equipment, etc) to $5 per cadet this year.
My biggest complaint against military bands I one day I was at the state fair and an Army band was scheduled to perform and didn't show up for that performance. I have heard military bands play at the Chick-fil-a headquarters at their Christmas party (my dad knows Truett Cathy, the founder) and they were extremely professional and entertaining. Such a shame to have to cut them. I think they could save money for the bands if they made the contracts for pilots to be longer, as many leave after their initial contract is up and it costs taxpayers $2 million per pilot for training (in many cases they can make more as a commercial pilot).

I am a member on the Air Force Band of Flight, in Dayton, Ohio. I've refrained from chiming in on this, as we're still in a state of disbelief from the recent news. It is indeed a real shame that the AF bands are being cut so deep. My band will go to a 15 member, probably rock group/brass quintet combo. Gone are the days where we could even dream of bringing music of the armed services to the general public. Yes, we're thankful that most of the displaced musicians will be reassigned to other bands. However, there's a side most people don't get to casually witness. The AF recently instated a program they call "Career broadening", or "Fresh expertise". I believe this was solely applied to the AF bands, when the Chief of Staff of the AF got wind that we don't move around every few years. So, he decided that we will move people to new bands, to "broaden their horizons." Essentially, we all do the same job, but in a different location. What was failed to realize is the crippling effect that can have to a musical organization where so small that each member is vital. So, they broke up sections, mismatched jazz/classical focused players, and crippled bands, as it generally takes a few months for someone to get settled in to a new job after being moved. The expense to taxpayers was about $55k/person moved. They moved about 120 people through this program. Countless people are still struggling to sell their homes, as much as 2 years later. Fast forward to current times, and the news of being cut:

Those same people who were moved within the last year or two, being told that they were going to be stable for what might be the rest of their careers did what any equity minded family might do. They settled down, bought a house, invested their children in local schooling... Now, those same folks who struggled after being unexpectedly forced to move less than 2 years ago are again facing the rigors of relocation. We have folks who will now have 2 homes in 2 different locations on the market. AND, if you remember correctly, it costs taxpayers about $55k/person to relocate. This time, over 150 people will be moved. Additionally, there are members who rely on the income of their spouse to make ends meet. In case you didn't know, the active duty pay of a military member is not all that great. Many new members actually meet criteria for public assistance (though they ordinarily do not utilize this). So, our spouses have to assume what we call, "portable careers." This makes them theoretically employable in lesser paying jobs in "any" location. For those whose spouses have actually found concrete employment that is not as flexible on location, there is more heartache. Many are faced with a tough choice now, as we are being told that no member will be released from their enlistment early. So, their spouses can quit their jobs, and uproot, or they can live apart until their term is up.

Regions that once had the benefit of seeing an Air Force band will likely fall by the wayside. We are told that the public affairs focus will now be on "high profile" areas and venues. Paraphrased to us as, "The annual lobster festival in Maine that only draws in 500 people just won't be part of our mission anymore." I can speak from almost 9 years of experience that it's the small towns of America that are the most joyous to play in. Yes, playing in whatever shiny brand new, acoustically perfect concert hall in whatever large metropolitan area might be a real blast, it's playing in the small town's high school gym that was recently hit by a tornado and having the ENTIRE town come out for the night that is a real treat for me. When the big blue buses roll into town and children chase them, like we're rock stars, and tear stream down the face of the aged WWII veteran when they hear their service song, that's what it's all about. It's not the disconnected, unapproachable stuffy concert we perform in the major symphony hall that connects with our audiences. The value of the military band is the ability to get out into the community and let even the smallest town know that the military is here, and for the American public. Patriotism is not dead, and often is most felt in the smallest towns.

Always professional musicians first, we take it in stride. You react, you feel, and you move on. Enjoy these videos from our concert on Saturday in the National Museum of the USAF. Mind you, this was probably the last time we'll ever perform together as a full band in a sit down, indoor concert setting. I've had the pleasure of playing in many "bigtime" professional groups. My colleagues in the Band of Flight are no less awesome. We had a great time!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pkcEKSo4 ... ature=plcp

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxNnGByI ... ature=plcp

During my 26 years combined active and reserve service in the Army and Navy, I always noticed that Airmen were treated much better than soldiers and sailors. It seems now that Air force musicians are now going to be treated like musicians in the rest of the military.

JHardisk wrote: Regions that once had the benefit of seeing an Air Force band will likely fall by the wayside. We are told that the public affairs focus will now be on "high profile" areas and venues. Paraphrased to us as, "The annual lobster festival in Maine that only draws in 500 people just won't be part of our mission anymore." I can speak from almost 9 years of experience that it's the small towns of America that are the most joyous to play in. Yes, playing in whatever shiny brand new, acoustically perfect concert hall in whatever large metropolitan area might be a real blast, it's playing in the small town's high school gym that was recently hit by a tornado and having the ENTIRE town come out for the night that is a real treat for me. When the big blue buses roll into town and children chase them, like we're rock stars, and tear stream down the face of the aged WWII veteran when they hear their service song, that's what it's all about. It's not the disconnected, unapproachable stuffy concert we perform in the major symphony hall that connects with our audiences. The value of the military band is the ability to get out into the community and let even the smallest town know that the military is here, and for the American public. Patriotism is not dead, and often is most felt in the smallest towns.

What wise and important an observation. This is at the very heart of what our country is(or was) about. Thanks for sharing this.

If you have not listened to the links posted by JHardisk, they are well worth a good listen - 1st one is Berlioz Roman Carnival, 2nd one is Finale - Shostakovich 5th.