Navy Music gets dealt a heavy blow

[Jeff Keller]

Everyone,

Yesterday, we heard very disturbing news that Navy Music will be dealt a significant blow. Over the course of the next two years, we are going to lose 142 spots. That's almost 20% of the total program. The hardest hit will be Navy Band Mid-South in Millington, TN and Navy Band New Orleans. These bands will be reduced to 14 members (rock band and BQ). Next, the Naval Academy Band is losing 22 spots to bring them to 45 total. DC will be cutting 16. Almost all of the CONUS "Large Fleet Bands" (45 members) will all be reduced in size to 36.

All of the branches are facing difficult budget/spending cuts and every branch has cut their music programs significantly . Please contact your elected officials and let them know that military music is worth saving. If we don't support each other, how can we expect others to do so?

Thank you,

Jeff Keller

[MSchott]

Hi Jeff.

I'm really sorry to hear this. Unfortunately with the current economy and calls for cuts in defense spending this is not surprising. I hope this does not happen but if it does, I also hope that some day the music budget will once again allow for these positions to be filled.

[JHardisk]

Ouch!

Very sorry Jeff!

It looks like the Navy followed the same plan as the Air Force. We dealt out very similar cuts last year, and are implementing them now. It was presented to us as a "good" thing. "Keeping our jobs"... "No big deal"... etc.. I hope it wasn't spun to your folks like that as well.

It's a rough time to be employed as a musician anywhere. There's so much discussion of our orchestral brethren and their employment struggles and not nearly as much mention of the military music side of things.

I think we all need to hang on, and expand our musical and business vocabularies and vocations.

We feel your pain over here, Jeff! I'm about to be one of the final 15 members at my base as 30 of my colleagues prepare to be moved or seperate.

Hang in there!

[JustinLerma]

It was not presented to us as a "good" thing but everyone is certainly trying to ease the blow. The detailing for these cuts are being cut immediately. The toughest part about all this is the advancement, it's already difficult to get promoted (no musicians were promoted to first class last cycle).

The leadership is being briefed as to what a cut of this magnitude will do to our support for retirements, changes of command, public performances, etc. Hopefully they will see how big of an issue this will be. Here in Naples we can not spread ourselves as wide as we have in the past( we were able to support 17 different embassy's during the week of July 4th).

Jeff is right, please write letters, e-mails, do anything you can to help the arts survive these difficult times.

[Heavy_Metal]

Maybe we could make this job easier by using this or a similar site:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/" target="_blank