Posted by Doug Whitten on January 19, 2003 at 02:10:13:
In Reply to: Re: Military Band Question posted by Matt A on January 19, 2003 at 01:40:12:
Any military gig, Washington D.C. or Afganistan, is still a military gig. You still get go to boot camp (except D.C. Marines), and you still get to salute officers. If you consider yourself a Bohemian artist, then the military ain't the right place. As a military musician you will be expected to be a good soldier or sailor and eventually develop into a leader of other soldiers and sailors. This, in my opinion, is a good thing. I am now a better leader and teacher because of the Army.
I applaud your looking to the military as a career, but please do not hoodwink yourself into thinking that it is something that it is not. Even the best military bands are still very much part of the military. Suprisingly, my friends who are in the Marine Band in Washington D.C. are every bit as "Gung Ho," if not more so, as any other member of the Armed Forces that I met.