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The Immersion Tour - A Great First Impression

  • Published
  • By Technical Sgt. Brandon Chaney
  • Ceremonial Brass
Washington, D.C. --  If you've ever been to a performance by The U.S. Air Force Band, you'll learn very quickly something about their vision: Through world-class musical presentations and ceremonies, the Band helps create bonds between the United States and the worldwide community. Using music to bridge language, cultural, societal and socio-economic differences, the Band's performances advance international relationships and inspire positive and long-lasting impressions of the U.S. Air Force and the United States of America.

In many cases, the first impression we must leave is on our internal customers, namely our superiors and shareholders, such as the chief of staff of the Air Force, leading Public Affairs representatives, and other connected customers. In 2011, under the leadership of Col. Philip Waite, we started what we call "immersions." Immersion tours are basically a chance for us to involve senior leaders and people of influence in what we do on a daily basis, such as perform for the public and provide ceremonial music for dignitaries and fallen Airmen. In addition to musical performances by various groups within the Band, assorted Band administrators present topics to guests such as deployments, troop morale capabilities, and relationship building. The tour is completed with a question and answer session with either the commander or some member(s) of our senior staff. This is all usually accomplished within the span of about one to two hours.

All of these tours are strategically planned from start to finish and no two immersions are alike. A typical one usually involves guests arriving at Hangar 2 only to be heralded by the Ceremonial Brass, which plays the arriving party into the building, trailed by a series of small, individual performances by many different ensembles within the Band. For example, the U.S. Air Force Strings might provide some classical fare, Max Impact may rock out, the Airmen of Note may take them back to the Golden Age of Big Band, and the Concert Band will perform some music from their repertoire as the grand finale, usually conducted by commander and conductor, Col. Larry Lang.

Sometimes the Band will even add a few surprises. For example, on a recent immersion on Tuesday, March 11, a vocal quartet from the U.S. Air Force Band Singing Sergeants hopped aboard the immersion surrey starting at the Pentagon and entertained the guests from there all the way to the Band building.

The typical reaction the Band gets after an immersion from many of our esteemed visitors is always positive and often inspiring. After a visit last year from General and Mrs. Welsh, Colonel Lang stated, "He's a big fan of what we bring to the fight, and the immersion only amplified his vigorous commitment to our mission for the Air Force."

As for the future of these immersions, we will continue to present to all of our distinguished guests and leaders a group of world-class, Air Force communicators who use the power of music to inspire audiences worldwide, create innovative products and programs, and represent Air Force excellence.