*this blog was originally published on musicainwages.com as a response to Walter Pincus’s article for the Washington Post in 2010. Although this moment has passed, the points are still relevant. As every few years a new politician starts to question the value of military bands.

Walter Pincus, an award winning journalist from the Washington Post,  has recently been suggesting that Military Bands are a waste of taxpayer dollars.

I must respectfully disagree.  Here’s how:

By asking the following questions . . .

Is it a waste of taxpayer dollars to instill a little patriotism, with some John Philip Sousa,  and see my fellow Americans proudly waving their flags?  Are the elderly and disabled veterans from World War II, Korea and Vietnam with tears in their eyes as the military parade marches through their town, a waste? 

Is it a waste when a group of Soldier/ Musicians bring their guitars and saxophones into the children’s ward of the hospital?  To play for them,  talk to them, and bring smiles to their brave, young faces? Or to a retirement home  to play a concert for the elderly as they are wheeled into the main room to listen?  Many of whom are long forgotten and never receive visitors.  I ask you- is that a waste?

Is it a waste when the Band gives free concerts and clinics at the public schools where music and the arts are always the first thing on the chopping block? To give back to the community  and mentor the kids with a little encouragement. Letting the students know there is real value in “The Arts”, and it’s not just a frivolous “waste of time”. 

Is it a waste to play a candlelight vigil on September 11th honoring all those who lost their lives? Is one more rendition of “Amazing Grace” so tasteless  that it should absolutely not be tolerated?

Is morale a waste?  Do we want our troops to feel like they are appreciated? That their fellow countrymen care enough to raise their spirits?  In all they do, they never ask for recognition.  They do their work day in and day out not for political reasons or social gains,  but because it’s their job. 

It is a great honor to play for my fellow Soldiers.  I am humbled by what they do and what they endure.  When they are deployed they’re simply trying to get through each day alive.  When I was downrange, I felt honored to be among them, playing for them and doing my part to help them get through it all. 

In Christmas of 2003 I wrote my family a letter and told them not to feel sorry for me.  I was in Iraq.  I wanted to spend the holidays with the Band and with my fellow Soldiers.  They had become my family that year and I couldn’t imagine being anywhere else on Christmas.  It was where I belonged for the Holidays. And I know most of, if not all of,  my fellow Band members felt the exact same way. 

Somehow I don’t think the Soldiers in the audience on that Christmas Eve in Tikrit wondered if the Band they were listening to was an efficient use of their tax dollars.

Is it a waste when I am playing the memorial service for a young Soldier killed in action 3 days before as his entire unit breaks down in front of me?

Is it a waste when a whole camp of broken down depressed troops listens to a rock band that blows the walls off the place with such cathartic intensity, that they don’t have to think about how much it “really sucks being here” for a couple of hours?

Is it frivolous spending to have a Marching Band waiting on the tarmac so the first thing our returning troops hear as they get off the plane after a year in the desert is some patriotic music? A very small “thank you” and gesture letting them know they weren’t forgotten while they were gone so far from home. 

Do they not deserve that?  Is that a waste of taxpayer dollars?

Is it a waste to spread a little good faith and brotherhood among men in a way that can’t be rationalized with contracts and words? 

In the north of Iraq,  we played a concert for our troops and the local population. It was well received, especially by the locals.  After we finished,  several Iraqis didn’t want the party to end and jumped on the stage. A couple of guys played our instruments; the others had brought their own – mostly tambourines.  They started to play and sing.  The other Iraqis in the crowd started to grab hands and dance.  Before we knew it,  the whole camp was singing some unknown Iraqi tune and dancing in a giant circle. There were no borders drawn in the sand that night;  it was simply a group of different people celebrating our commonalities as human beings. Very wasteful?

The following deployment I was playing  a lunch gig with the jazz combo in a hot and dusty chow hall near Baghdad.  After the meal was finished and the troops had all cleared out,  we played an additional set for the all Bangladeshi workforce.  They were so appreciative that we received a standing ovation after every song.  Does their positive experience with the American military count as a waste of money?

Maybe it’s a total waste to send out Buglers for Military Funerals?  Do the families REALLY  need to hear  “Taps”? Is a final paying of respect and a thank you from a grateful nation all that important?    

What’s next, after silencing the trumpets . . .

Maybe, along with the frivolous expense of military bands,  we should do  away with the flags presented to surviving family members of Veterans?  I know my 89 year old grandmother would have happily given back the one she was presented at my grandfather’s funeral (a WWII vet and bronze star recipient)  if she’d had the chance to talk to someone like Mr. Pincus -maybe he could have explained to her what a waste of taxpayer money her flag was.

Maybe I’m shortsighted and just can’t see the big picture? Perhaps none of these things are really important. Pianos don’t blow up buildings or kick down doors.  Maybe we should eradicate military music altogether and then we can all listen to Mr. Pincus talk about how great it is robbing our countrymen of their honor, dignity and well earned morale.