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Nighthawk's Mission Complete

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  • By Technical Sgt. Kevin Cerovich
Washington, D.C. --  The members of the AFCENT Band Nighthawk just ended their deployment in Southwest Asia. The last month brought many changes and brilliant new ideas for the band, and their audiences across three countries have loved the results! The biggest change was the addition of Senior Master Sgt. Mitch Morton on keyboard. Morton replaced Technical Sgt. Geoff Reecer, who had to leave the deployment in March. This change made the band more versatile--the rhythm section had both guitar and keyboard-- allowing Nighthawk to cover more musical styles.

The departure of the last AFCENT Band, Pegasus, saw a brilliant idea go unfinished: "Al Udeid Idol," a singing contest in the style of the hit television program "American Idol." Technical Sgt. Adam Green breathed life back into the project. He successfully coordinated a three-week long event that featured some of Al Udeid's most talented vocalists and awarded gift cards to three contestants. "It's amazing to me that there are so many talented people on these bases that would otherwise have no outlet for their gifts," said Green.

Guided by Senior Master Sgt. Jeremy Remley, the director of operations for the group, Nighthawk recently hit the road for one last trip to Southwest Asia. They performed for more than 1,100 U.S. and coalition forces and were even joined on stage several times by a few very talented Airmen and Marines at various forward-operating bases. They were proud to bring smiles and joy to men and women serving half-a-world away from home. They also hope to help "wash away" the monotony and hardship, if only for a song or two, for these amazing service members.

As Nighthawk prepared to leave, they welcomed and spun up their replacements, "Top Flight," from Lackland AFB, Texas. This group is sure to pick up and run with the excellence laid down by Nighthawk and the AFCENT Bands that came before.

One of the Air Force's core values is "Excellence in all we do." This is never more apparent than in a deployment environment, and the members of Nighthawk got to experience it firsthand. After an eventful and fruitful three months, the members of Nighthawk were certainly ready to return to their families. They did so, however, knowing that they were able to serve where they were needed most: bringing a small piece of home to some of our bravest and most incredible Airmen and Soldiers.