Why is the Marine bands system different than the others?

[scottw]

I remember--vaguely-- reading that the band members in the Marines have non-playing duties that other service bands do not have. Is this correct? To what extent are they subject to combat, for instance? Do they do regular basic training or more musical? Would someone be able to rate the Marine bands vs the other services'? Bigger? Smaller? How often deployed?
This is to give guidance to a student, not me!

[skeath]

My experience is with the Army, not Marines, but I think the situation is similar. All members of the military have an occupation code, which indicates the type of work they can do. Mine was 02F20 (non-com tuba player). Soldiers headed for Infantry had to go to Advanced Training to win the Combat Infantry Badge (CIB). No one went into combat unless they held the CIB. As a side note, the CIB was considered a requirement for advancement as a Field Grade Officer or above.

I could certainly be ordered to do other jobs (wash trucks, fill sandbags, stand guard duty, be mail clerk, transfer garbage, etc.), all of which I did one time or another, but I could not be permanently transferred to any company except a band. While in the US, I was never asked to do anything outside my military occupation (although it could have happened), but in Viet Nam, it was not uncommon. I once spent two weeks at a Fire Support Base in the jungle near the Cambodian border, processing captured material.

The short answer is, when one is enlisted as a musician, that is all you do on a permanent basis, but short-term, anything is possible (except combat).

As for basic training, everyone does the same basic. Musicians don't get anything special. As far as that goes, you're not a musician yet, anyway, as your occupation code is not assigned until after basic.

SK


I presume you know that none of this applies to the Special Bands (Washington, D.C.). Those Marines don't even do basic at all.

[jr2262euph]

Some military correction is due here. No CIB is awarded after any advanced training.
The EIB (Expert Infantrymans Badge) is awarded only after extensive class room and field tactical training. The CIB (Combat Infantrymans Badge) is awarded only to those in Infantry units who have come under hostile fire on several ocassions. The CIB is one of the most prestigeous awards given to an Infantry soldier, - a high honor, - but never a requirement to be promoted to field grade officer rank. Now, on with the band member discussion.

[chhite]

Every Soldier, regardless of MOS (except doctors and chaplains), is trained to execute the basic duties of a rifleman. And many times, military bandsmen have provided dismounted and convoy security, manned guard towers, maintained enemy POW facilities, and even engaged in close combat with an enemy. While those duties are primarily in a deployed environment, bandsmen also have collateral duties in "critical function areas", both in deployed and garrison locations; administration, finance, training, operations, supply and logistics, etc. All those extra duties take training time in addition to musical duties, which take training time. Most bands are not afforded the extra MOS-trained personnel to occupy the shops, so we learn and train others within the band to do those duties. We are held to the same standard as everyone else and several Army band supply shops have won Army-wide competitions for supply room of the year.

Two of the most important things we have to learn is time management and balance. Our "secondary" jobs can very easily take time away from our practice and/or rehearsal time but we have to guard against that.

I hope that gives you some more insight, but if not, shoot me a message.

[b.williams]

The D.C. Marine Band does not have a combat mission so its members do not have to go through boot camp. All other Marine bands have a combat mission so boot camp is required.

[USMCTuba]

Ooh...a topic that I might be of some use for, as opposed to my daily trolling!

I remember--vaguely-- reading that the band members in the Marines have non-playing duties that other service bands do not have. Is this correct?

Yes and no. Marines are assigned logistical (non-musical) duties within the unit, very much like Chhite has said. However, all four services with Field/Regional/Fleet bands multi-task their personnel that way. In addition to the logistics necessary for any military band to function, Marines also need to maintain their fundamental "Marine" skills: physical fitness, rifle marksmanship, and hand-to-hand combat.

To what extent are they subject to combat, for instance?

That depends on the band. In the Marine Corps when it comes to deployments the bands get entered in the rotation with their parent Headquarters Battalion. The bands that are property of a base - like in Quantico or Recruit Depot San Diego - don't go anywhere because their base never goes anywhere. But the First Marine Division Band goes where ever the First Marine Division Headquarters goes. Our Marine Division and Air Wing bands all deployed regularly in the earlier days of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Only a small percentage experience direct enemy attack, but they all experienced the multitude of dangers that don't necessarily qualify as "combat" in a Marine's book. That being said, bands generally only get deployed wholesale (individual volunteerism is always appreciated =) ) in support of very large campaigns; Desert Storm, Vietnam, etc. Of course, that is with regard to deployments only; all the bands do a fair amount of touring the U.S. for musical performances and such throughout the year.

Do they do regular basic training or more musical?

All prospective Marines attend the same 12-week Recruit Training. At that point Marines that aren't headed to the Infantry attend a four-week Combat Training course (very abbreviated "Infantry" training for non-Infantry). After that is complete those slated to be musicians attend a 6-month Basic Musician's course at the Navy School of Music; it's the Navy's school, but Army and Marine musicians also attend. The Air Force audition process is such that they don't require supplemental training; they report directly to their bands after basic training. The Basic Musician's course is about like having your first two semesters of undergraduate study - theory, ear training, lessons, ensembles - condensed into less time with no breaks. It can be tough for H.S. grads, but it would review for anyone with a year's worth of college music under their belts. Those with Bachelor's-level education or higher often spend their time either helping the younger students or reveling in the fact that they could ace the course in a coma. =) Learning ceremonial drill is very important though, and everyone needs the time to "relearn" their horn after four months off, so college grads need not fret that the time will be "wasted." Not to mention you'll need to learn how to behave like a Marine rather than a recruit (!), so I definitely consider it time well spent.

Would someone be able to rate the Marine bands vs the other services'? Bigger? Smaller? How often deployed?
This is to give guidance to a student, not me!

Well...I'll not hazard a comparison of the service bands unless you want to PM me. =P Within the Corps the bands are designed to be equal in ability and capability. In the past they've numbered 50 or so, but they will be larger for a while due to two of our bands being recently decommissioned and their Marines disseminated across the remaining ten.

If you have more questions about the Corps in particular feel free to contact me or have your student do so at derekpdunbar@gmail.com" target="_blank, or you can reach your assigned Musical Technical Assistant (read: band recruiter) through this site: http://www.marines.mil/community/music/ ... areer.aspx" target="_blank

Hope that helps!