I never played in the USAF Drum and Bugle Corps, but I did play soprano horn in the Lackland AFB, Drum and Bugle Corps October, November, and part of December 1963.
We played retreat ceremonies and did some local parades. In addition we played at the basic training graduation ceremonies. Most of our music was traditional military marches, but one of our snare drummers, ex Cambridge Caballero DM, John Tyree, got the drum line to use the Hawthorne Cabbies street beat. We had a semi-cool instructor, SSGT Lykens who let us smoke and drink sodas when we were in the band room rehearsing. We were required to get set back three weeks in basic training in order to march in the corps. It was fun, and it was a helluva way to go through basic.
Was anyone else in the Lackland corps? I remember we had a Chicago Cavy french horn player and another horn player from the Belleville Black Knights...I believe his name was Mike Hartwell. Most of the other members played brass in bands. We used chrome g bugles with a piston and a ring slide.