Army Calls For New Cannon Fodder - Musicians

[stopbush]

Geez...what happened to the band members they had? Oh, yeah...Iraq!

Probably not the best career move if you're a budding musician. Saw this today at the Monster.com job boards...

Feb 28
 
Army Band Immediate Openings
Army Recruiting Command
US-CO-Denver


Feb 28
 
Army Band Immediate Openings
Army Recruiting Command
US-CA-Orange County

Feb 28
 
Army Band Immediate Openings
Army Recruiting Command
US-CA-San Diego

Feb 28
 
Army Band Immediate Openings
Army Recruiting Command
US-CA-San Francisco


Feb 28
 
Army Band Immediate Openings
Army Recruiting Command
US-CA-Long Beach

Feb 28
 
Army Band Immediate Openings
Army Recruiting Command
US-CA-Los Angeles

Feb 28
 
Army Band Immediate Openings
Army Recruiting Command
US-CA-Oakland/East Bay


Feb 28
 
Army Band Immediate Openings
Army Recruiting Command
US-AZ-Phoenix

Feb 28
 
Army Band Immediate Openings
Army Recruiting Command
US-CA-Anaheim/Huntington Beach

[mattclearing]

1. I think this is the symptom.

Most musicians suddenly have more promising job opportunities than the military, like playing for change on the sidewalk.

[jmowreader]

2. There's that pesky little clause in the musicians' enlistment contract

My squad leader in Korea (who was also my roommate in training) was a very good drummer--a music major in college, where he played both marching percussion and drumset.

He decided to see the world and get his college loans paid off at the same time, so he went to a recruiter...who looked at his college transcripts and encouraged him to audition for the Army band corps.

He passed the audition and was all set to sign on the dotted line as a drummer until the band recruiter mentioned in passing that "now you must understand that if a war breaks out the army can change your MOS to infantry."

He spent four years tapping phones during the day and playing for fun in the rec center's music room at night.

[AllegroRondo]

6. That clause is in all MOS contracts

not just musicians. But I dont think its been used since the Korean war.

[jmowreader]

7. The odds of them turning a medic into a grunt are really minuscule

Your chances of becoming infantry vary according to your MOS.

Medics, other combat arms soldiers (except for armor) and most combat-support MOS are pretty safe.

Quite a few combat service support soldiers are safe from infantryization--it is very hard to fight with no fuel or ammo, and it's especially difficult to fight if your tank won't start.

But nobody needs musicians. They're important for pageantry, and for esprit de corps, but music won't save our soldiers and it won't kill theirs.

If the shit hit the fan hard enough that they had to start going through the barracks looking for cannon fodder, the first place they're going is the band.

[Lars39]

9. Friend of ours was in Germany playing in military band,

he is now in Iraq. He wasn't a newcomer to the service, either, he'd been in about 12 yrs.

[OneBlueSky]

3. I don't know if this is still true, but back in my fund raising days . . .

the annual budget for military bands in this country exceeded the budget for the entire National Endowment for the Arts . . . and by a substantial margin . . . I'd be surprised if that wasn't still the case . . .

[AllegroRondo]

5. Most of that is for the "premier" bands in DC

Like the Marine Band and the US Army Band "Pershings Own". They spend a ton on travel alone.

The 'line' bands at division level have an annual budget of about $120K a year. That covers instruments, travel, office supplies, uniforms, everything but salaries.

[AllegroRondo]

4. As a former Army Bandsman

I can speak with a little authority on this.

The Band field was always short people, at least while I was in (1988-2001). A standard band has 40 slots, but typically you have 30-35 people filling them. We were always short on clarinets, bassoons, oboes, and drummers. The only instruments we were usually full on were trumpets and saxophones.

No, they cant change your MOS to infantry in time of war. The bands stay together as bands, but the daily duties change. During the first Iraq war, we did division headquarters security and POW security (guarding them after initial capture before they are sent to POW camps). When not doing this, we did morale concerts for the troops.

Every Army division in Iraq right now has their band with them. I have many close friends from the band field over there right now.

[LynnTheDem]

10. As a current active duty officer, OH YES THEY CAN change your MOS to

infantry, and they don't need a war to do so; the military can change your MOS at any time they want. Check the contract; NEEDS OF THE MILITARY.

Gary

[AllegroRondo]

11. My mistake, allow me to clarify

The clause is in all military contracts, not something specific to just the band field. Dont let it scare you off from joining the band if you think this implies that they are somehow first in line to become infantry during a war.

[Swamp Rat]

8. Boooooooo!

:( I'd rather remain unemployed and busk on the street than be a part of the Death Machine! :puke: