BOLLING AFB, DC - Friends of the Air Force Band -- This edition of e-Cadenza marks a first for me--my debut as a feature writer in a publication. My brother, the newspaper editor, is most certainly cringing right about now! However, nobody is more surprised than me that my Air Force journey has brought me to this place at this time.
You see, I still distinctly remember the first time I saw The Air Force Band--it was in the Union Theater on the campus of Louisiana State University in spring of 1975 during my freshman year of college. Colonel Arnald Gabriel was on the podium, Sergeant Donald Riale was the trumpet soloist, the first half of the concert ended with the 1812 Overture and the second half was devoted to the story of aviation. Colonel Gabriel even invited our college band director, Bill Swor, to conduct the National Emblem March. There I was in the audience, overwhelmed and mesmerized, thinking how cool it would be to be part of that band! At that time in my life all I wanted to be was a trumpet player--who would have ever guessed all these years later I would become the leader of The Air Force Band. Certainly not me!
I have many people who guided (maybe even pushed) me down this path. First of all, I wouldn't be here without the love and support of my wife, Bettye, and daughter, Carolyn. Bettye, who grew up just outside Washington, D.C. and knew all about the service bands, convinced me in 1981 to take an audition for the Air Force--that one event set us out on a journey forever changing our lives and eventually bringing us to this place now. My first Air Force boss at Offutt AFB, Nebraska, Lieutenant Colonel Loren Johnson of the Strategic Air Command Band, saw the bandleader potential in me--simply put, I owe my career as an officer to him. Colonel Ron Carl of the Air Force Academy Band taught me about officership and what it means to be in command--I couldn't have had a better teacher. When I was barely a First Lieutenant and a rookie commander at Chanute AFB, Illinois, my boss Colonel Fraine Zeitler, treated me no differently than his other more senior commanders--teaching me how important it is for a leader to respect and honor all people, regardless of rank or position. Then there were three general officers--General Lester Lyles, Lieutenant General Charles Coolidge, and Major General Charles Metcalf--who convinced me to stay in the Air Force when I was at one of those crossroads in life when I could've gone on to do something else. I'm so fortunate those outstanding officers were in my life at that time.
But it's not just officers in the Air Force who got me here--there are Airmen and NCOs far too numerous to acknowledge. However, I can't begin command of The Air Force Band without a little piece of me wishing some of them were here with me now. Incredible leaders like CMSgt Chris Edris, CMSgt Doug Harry, CMSgt Roy Ayala, CMSgt Frank Milazzo, and CMSgt Fred Correll had more influence on me than they'll ever know and I became a better officer because of them.
The Air Force Band is a very special place and I'm humbled and exalted to follow in the lineage of great bandleaders like Colonel George Howard, Colonel Arnald Gabriel, Colonel Lowell Graham, and Colonel Dennis Layendecker. During whatever time the Air Force allows me the privilege of continuing to serve the country and commanding The Air Force Band, my goal is simply for us to play hard, play smart, and play together. If we do that, we'll serve the Air Force well.
So now ... I guess it's time for me to be "off to the note factory!"