Wanted to pass along a hat tip to the Colonel. Check out fromanairforcecolonel. I think he's the first Airman out there blogging on PA-type issues. Look back here, as we find more Air Force related blogs.
Posted by Paul F. Bove, Air Force Public Affairs.
Technical Sgt. Sean Arnold guides Rwandan defense force trucks on board a C-17 Globemaster III Jan. 13 at Kigali International Airport in Rwanda. This is the first load of five airlifts to the United Nations-African Union mission in Darfur. Sergeant Arnold is from Travis Air Force Base, Calif. (U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Samuel Bendet)
Well, today was similar to yesterday, except there were several media outlets present to document the occasion. Once again, the weather did not sympathize with our situation, and the band marched through the morning darkness against a cold, steady rain.
My name is TSgt. Jay Heltzer, and I am the bass trombonist with the United States Air Force Concert Band, from Bolling AFB in Washington D.C. Along with MSgt. Brian McCurdy, I will provide a bandsman’s perspective on preparing for, and participating in, the 2009 Inaugural Parade. We hope to give you as many details as we can--some trivial, some interesting, some historic-- on the USAF Band’s role in the events of Jan. 20, 2009.
Day 1 (Jan. 8) of the 2009 Inauguration Preparation -- When we reported to work, there was a definite buzz in the air. Everyone felt the excitement, curiosity and confusion in the air. When you see more than two Air Force buses parked in front of the band hangar for the daily mission, you know there is something big going on. Add to that the typical morning traffic in Washington, D.C., and you get a very edgy band member.
Once we arrived at work, we found our bus assignments and received our winter gear (like scarves and gloves). As we found out soon enough, we needed as much gear as possible on this cold, wet and rainy day!
After arriving at Andrews AFB, Md., (a short 9 mile drive from Bolling) we fell into the Hangar where we got into the traditional 99-piece formation, beginning with the familiar shout of our drum major: “Nine trombones!” (Trombones are always in the front row). Time to start building a band.
Once we were in place, Day 1 began with training. Five members of the Ceremonial Brass, who will perform with the band on Inauguration day, stepped out of the formation and helped out as our Marching Training Staff. These five Airmen have an extensive background in marching, from their own personal experience in school to marching with top-level Drum and Bugle Corps from Drum Corps International. They also teach local high school bands and other Drum Corps.
Master Sgt. Kent Baker, who fits in all the above categories, was in charge of the training and the agenda for the morning. He talked to the band about the fundamentals of marching, uniformity, appearance and focusing on all the details to make us look as good as possible for the big day, and hopefully all the days following.
Personally, I marched in high school and college, and when I joined the Air Force Band 4 1/2 years ago, I was a member of the Ceremonial Brass. Marching has always been a part of my life, and I thought I was pretty good at it. However, it’s very easy to take things for granted, because I had staff members coming up to me numerous times commenting on my toes during “marking time” (marching in place), and my horn angle, and how I line up with the people on both sides of me.
This is not just “another parade.” This is a parade the whole world will be watching, and we do not want details to be ignored or passed over. After a few hours of constant reminders, what do you know? I can now effectively keep my toes together when I mark time. The band can also move forward, stop, and make left and right turns as a unit. It may seem pretty elementary, but you try moving 99 people in sync, and see how easy it is. Mission Accomplished.
Check back for Part 2 with Master Sergeant Brian McCurdy.
Posted by Paul F. Bove, Air Force Public Affairs Agency
Posted by Paul F. Bove, Air Force Public Affairs Agency
In the days leading up to the inauguration, two bandmembers—Master Sgt. Brian McCurdy and Tech. Sgt. Jay Heltzer—will post guest blogs on AirForceLive. Be sure to check back later for their first entries. Today, SSgt Monique Randolph, from Air Force Public Affairs Agency's Emerging Technology Division, attended the band rehearsal and gave us a preview of what's to come. 
From their newest label cut in June of ‘08 titled “Connected; Max Impact & Silver Wings”, comes one of The USAF Band’s hottest new songs, “Locked and Loaded”. The song was written and recorded by member of the Band’s rock group Max Impact who are directly back from playing the tune on deployment throughout the U.S. Central Command Area Of Responsibility (AOR). After a rigorous tour, Max Impact rocked out singing over 68 performances throughout the region. The band performed not only for deployed Airmen and other service members, but also performed for children at local orphanages, schools, and even for students at a music conservatory. Max Impact is composed of guitarist TSgt. Matt Geist, who composed the music, TSgt. Robert Smith, who wrote the lyrics and plays the drums, MSgt. Ryan Carson and MSgt. Regina Coonrod, the band’s singers, and bassist and TSgt. David Foster, and TSgt. Adam Dempsey the sound engineer.
With powerful and dynamic lyrics, each stanza of “Locked and Loaded” is meant to exhibit the complete synergy of each imperative component of the fight. For instance, lyrics for the combat control Airmen who are calling in the drop says:
“Walk in the shade of the clouds at night,"
"Crawling in the dirt, calling an A-10 strike,"
"Dancing in the shadows, lives are on the line,"
"Bombs are gonna fall, just in time.”
Gripping and compelling to their deployed audiences, one Army soldier told singer MSgt. Ryan Carson after the concert," said Carson. “I’ll be doing my morning PT to this one. “Your iPod is your weapon over there, if you don’t have it your lost.”
“Here is the cool thing about music; anytime you hear a song you are instantly transported back to where you were when you first heard it. If I hear a Rascal Flats tune, it immediately takes me back to Nebraska with my wife’s family.” Carson explains music’s power regarding memory, “You can be in the middle of Afghanistan, put in a song and be carried back to a Junior High dance where you met your girlfriend for the first time.”
A critical component of the band’s mission was to lift the spirits of deployed Airmen, remind them of home, and give them a strong sense of hope to continue on.
“I told the guys in the band, 'Don’t ever take our job for granted, because you could save a life tonight,'" said Carson. "There might be somebody out there tonight that is doesn’t want to be here anymore, but if we give them a little piece of home, and a little bit of encouragement, then they remember all those people who love them back home, and the way life really is, and they might just change their mind.”
The message behind the song?
“We wanted to show that everybody’s got a piece of the fight, whether you are an Airmen standing-post, or an Airmen on the flight-line. Your daily mission, contributes to the big picture of the war, and that’s what we tried to do with the song,” said Carson.
In an interview with the music Composer TSgt Matthew Geist, also the band guitarist said, “Our song, 'Locked and Loaded,' received more comments on the tour, and they were most impressed that it was an original song by our band.” 
The lead singer for “Locked and Loaded” MSgt Ryan Carson, whose favorite phrase at the beginning of each concert is, “We’re going to rock your face off!” started out as an Opera Major at the University of Wyoming when the Air Force picked him up. Carson wanted to help the Airmen focus on why you do what you do for the Air Force.
In addition to raising the moral of deployed Airmen, Max Impact conducted some unique concerts to connect with many of the local citizens by performing at the School for the Deaf, where by vibrations the student’s clapped hands and feet to the rhythm, as well as scream out the lyrics to each song.
“The students were surprisingly more responsive compared to most of our audiences," said the vocalist MSgt Regina Coonrod. "The kids were really into the music; they were all up singing and dancing to the beats and vibrations." Max Impact also visited many local orphanages in the Kyrgyz Republic including one with more than 350 children.
Guitarist Geist commented, “At the orphanages, the kids were all five and under, so we played stuff like Old MacDonald, and the Happy Birthday song. We really tried to cater to them. And we played songs that were happy and upbeat, stuff that they could really smile. We wanted to play something for them with a repeatable chorus that they could learn to sing, so we played “Sweet Home Alabama." Every time the chorus came around, you have thirty to forty kids singing, “Sweet Home Alabama”, who did not even speak English.”
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Posted by Joseph Fordham, Air Force Public Affairs.