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Chief Master Sergeant John Gohl Leaves the USAFA Band: An Interview with CMSgt Gohl

  • Published
  • By A1C Craig Larimer
  • USAFA Band
March, 7, 2014 --  Chief Master Sergeant John Gohl spent 26 years serving the United States Air Force Academy Band (USAFA Band) as a world class trombonist and NCO. Originally from Moorhead, Minnesota, CMSgt Gohl established himself as a professional trombone player and educator after graduating from the University of Colorado, Greeley in 1984. He then joined the USAFA Band and has been an integral part of the Concert Band, Marching Band, and Stellar Brass. Last month CMSgt Gohl left our unit at Peterson AFB to become the Band Manager for the Band of Mid America located at Scott Air Force Base. Before his departure I had the chance to talk with him about his career at the USAFA Band:

CL: How has the Air Force changed throughout your career?
JG:I can't tell you how the whole AF changed, but I will share how the job changed here at the USAFA Band. When I entered the Air Force, our band had 5 computers equipped with DOS and Enable and we shared desks in a relatively small (Smokey) area in the back of Arnold Hall. We communicated without email or cell phones or texting and received cash advances for TDYs. Life insurance was limited to $50,000. Over time, we incorporated electronic banking, government travel cards, government purchase cards, and much faster communication. The majority of the mission was marching on the terrazzo and Stillman Field supporting cadet movement. The quality of the musicians also improved over my career as competition for jobs increased. Additionally, our unit is much better now at codifying and communicating the larger AF and USAFA missions. I was listening to a cassette tape of a brass quintet concert from 1989 this morning and I realized we talked a lot about the music and not so much about our purpose of being there; I can't emphasize enough how we have improved in this area and as a result, how much more we are contributing to AF and USAFA recruiting and community relations. Our band has become very adept at developing community partnerships to fill concert halls, and through media and social media, we are reaching many more people with our AF messages. Audio and video recording equipment and techniques also advanced so that our products are higher quality. The Air Force continues to cycle up and down in personnel and budgets as demand for our services and available funding goes up and down. It's hard on the members to endure the change, but the profession is wonderful and well worth the trials in my opinion.

CL: What will you miss most about the USAFA band program?
JG: Well, as a chief I will miss the time talking with band members and helping them. As a musician, I already miss my time in the brass quintet and concert band. We had so many good times during rehearsals and performances and I'll always be grateful for the times I looked out at the audiences and saw them smiling and crying--what we do means so much to those Americans. I will also miss the institution I've represented all of these years and being part of the development of the cadets. I will especially miss the many friendships developed over 26 years in Colorado Springs.

CL: What experiences here in Colorado Springs uniquely prepare you for your new task at hand?
JG: During my time as chief, I've had many great mentors and role models, including Chiefs Doersch, Barbier, Correll, Salzman, Ludwig, Aiello, Hudson, Dooms, and Burditt. Our unit has been blessed with commanders who each brought elements of excellent leadership to our band and I've had the chance to learn from each of them. My experiences as a musician, group leader, tour manager, shop leader, resource advisor, additional duty first sergeant, and band manager will all transfer to my duties at the new assignment.

CL: How will your new position as band manager be different than your current job?
JG: As I transfer from one 60-piece band to another, I anticipate that much of the job will be similar, but the mission of Air Mobility Command will certainly have a different focus and that will be a challenge initially to get up to speed on the band's unique mission. I look forward to meeting and working with the band member's at Scott AFB.