nss2vprez Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 If Rep. Martha McSally's amendment to the DoD spending bill passes, the Marine Drum and Bugle Corps and every single military musical group would effectively be shut down from public performances, limiting them to funerals, taps. Please sign this petition to continue the mission of military bands! Thank you! https://petitions.whitehouse.gov/petition/continue-military-bands-funding 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nss2vprez Posted June 21, 2016 Author Share Posted June 21, 2016 I hope this is the right forum to post this since the Marine D&B corps performs at the DCI Finals every year. They would no longer be allowed to do this if this amendment passes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nss2vprez Posted June 21, 2016 Author Share Posted June 21, 2016 One final note... Please disseminate this message to every drum corps forum/message board, college/university school's of music, and any music education boards that you know of. Less funding for military bands = fewer jobs for musicians. These are your tax dollars at work. How would YOU like them to be used? Voice your opinion. Write your local elected officials! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 Whether you agree with the petition or not, whether you sign it or not, this posting is merely done to present the information as to why Rep. McSally added the amendment. Martha McSally is a retired Air Force Colonel and currently a member of the United States House of Representatives. She is concerned that over the past six years a large multitude of Armed Service's 'Combat Personnel', along with a plethora of Defensive Weaponry, have been downsized to the point where our combat-ready military is smaller than it has been since WW2. And just recently the U.S. Air Force A-10 defensive aircraft program, which is heavily used to combat terrorist organizations, was completely decommissioned. On the other hand there are over 540 musicians in the Air Force alone, and that number does not include music programs in all other Branches; none of those music programs have been decommissioned. So, the reasoning behind the action taken by Rep. McSally, which is to try and make sure funding goes to combat-ready programs as opposed to something like music, is summed up in her following quote, “We currently are under a combat-manning crisis, and the government is now retiring an essential close-air support aircraft like the A-10. Yet we have hundreds of people playing the tuba and clarinet. And if we are under that military manning crisis, especially considering the current level of threat our Nation faces, from my perspective, we would really tell military people to put down the tuba and pick up a wrench or a gun.” Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) Whether you agree with the petition or not, whether you sign it or not, this posting is merely done to present the information as to why Rep. McSally added the amendment. Martha McSally is a retired Air Force Colonel and currently a member of the United States House of Representatives. She is concerned that over the past six years a large multitude of Armed Service's 'Combat Personnel', along with a plethora of Defensive Weaponry, have been downsized to the point where our combat-ready military is smaller than it has been since WW2. And just recently the U.S. Air Force A-10 defensive aircraft program, which is heavily used to combat terrorist organizations, was completely decommissioned. On the other hand there are over 540 musicians in the Air Force alone, and that number does not include music programs in all other Branches; none of those music programs have been decommissioned. So, the reasoning behind the action taken by Rep. McSally, which is to try and make sure funding goes to combat-ready programs as opposed to something like music, is summed up in her following quote, “We currently are under a combat-manning crisis, and the government is now retiring an essential close-air support aircraft like the A-10. Yet we have hundreds of people playing the tuba and clarinet. And if we are under that military manning crisis, especially considering the current level of threat our Nation faces, from my perspective, we would really tell military people to put down the tuba and pick up a wrench or a gun.” As a former Army bandsman, that's the dumbest quote I've ever read, and indicative of someone who has little to no understanding of the military musician's mission. Additionally, the budget of the entire US Military music program is a fraction of a fraction of the cost of the US military budget. She should be more concerned with the amount of money wasted on the F-35 development program, the single largest boondoggle in this nation's history (by 2014, the program was $163 billion over budget and seven years behind schedule). Edited June 21, 2016 by Kamarag 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stu Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) It should also be noted that McSally was the first female combat-pilot, who actually placed her life in harms way, so that we can continue to maintain the freedom of enjoying music. All I was doing was pointing out her position and point of view; you have yours, she has hers. Edited June 21, 2016 by Stu Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 It should also be noted that McSally was the first female combat-pilot, who actually placed her life in harms way, so that we can continue to maintain the freedom of enjoying music. All I was doing was pointing out her position and point of view; you have yours, she has hers. FYI, plenty of military musicians have been in harms way over the years (especially during Desert Storm and Operation Iraqi Freedom). It doesn't make us any better or worse then she is. Just performing a different mission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elphaba01 Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) "All that Military Matters" The DISGUSTING shortfalls in the US armed forces are THE FAULT of Congress and the Obama mal-administration. Period. "Sequestration" has done it's job, and gutted the military. The USAF brass in order to preserve the weapons programs, allowed the active forces to be drawn down. There is an attempt at this time to authorize some several thousands of slots, and call back some of the personnel that were let go in the "Draw down". The A-10 has not yet been decommissioned, but if certain USAF brass get their way it will be gone by 2022. It is THE most effective low altitude ground support KILLER in the USAF inventory. The US Army has offered to take over the A-10 fleet when/if the USAF gets rid of it. The "Commandant's Own", the USMC's official drum & bugle corps will never go away. Thank the wisdom of the late Colonel Truman Crawford. Sadly: ALL the USAF "permanent party" drum corps (The Bolling AFB corps, the USAF Academy enlisted corps) are but long ago memories, and sorely missed by me. The Military Bands program in the active USAF has been HUGELY downsized. The USAF Reserve and National Guard music programs have also fallen under the axe. 540 musicians is not going to make or break the "War on terror". We TOTALLY AGREE that the US Armed Forces are horribly stressed and stretched thin at this time. We are subscribers to the Air Force Times and USAF Musicians Association newsletters and follow the course of current events in the service and military music. Elphaba WWW Edited June 21, 2016 by elphaba01 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lance Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 (edited) I was a military musician, and the civilian performances were the best part. It broke up the monotony of 3-4 ceremonies per day. The best was the 4th of July gig we played in Canton at the Pro Football Hall of Fame. It would be a terrible shame for that to get taken away. And the woman sponsoring the bill is an idiot. The Presdent's and Commandant's Own (to a lesser extent) are extreme exceptions. The other 90% of field musicians are fully trained riflemen, and are at least as battle ready as the majority of the military who sit behind desks all day. Edited June 21, 2016 by Lance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kdaddy Posted June 21, 2016 Share Posted June 21, 2016 "Sequestration" has done it's job, and gutted the military. And this is why politics (and its falsehoods) have no place on this board. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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