The 4th Infantry Division Band during the 5th annual Trinidad Armed Forces Day parade.
The United States Army has maintained multiple military bands in its over two centuries of service. These bands provides musical support for military camps and bases, military areas, and communities across the mainland United States and other territories such as Puerto Rico. United States military bands also serve in army units outside the country and in regions such as Western Europe or Eastern Asia. There are currently 88 army bands, which consists of 20 active duty regional bands, 13 reserve bands, 51 National Guard bands, and four premier bands. Many bandsmen are trained as part of Band of the Army School of Music at Virginia Beach before their assignment in these bands.
Premier ensembles[]
The Army Field Band in early 2013.
| Ensemble | Activated |
Garrison |
|---|---|---|
 U.S. Army Band |
1922[1][1] |  <div style="position: absolute; top: Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "$".%; left: Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "$".%; height: 0; width: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> |
 U.S. Army Field Band |
1946[2][3][4] | <div style="position: absolute; top: Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "$".%; left: Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "$".%; height: 0; width: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> |
 Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps |
1960[2] | <div style="position: absolute; top: Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "$".%; left: Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "$".%; height: 0; width: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> |
 West Point Band |
1817[5] | <div style="position: absolute; top: Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "$".%; left: Expression error: Unrecognized punctuation character "$".%; height: 0; width: 0; margin: 0; padding: 0;"> |
List of active regional bands[]
The 1st Cavalry Division Band during a color uncasing ceremony at Knight Field upon return from the Iraq War, 1 May 2005.
| Band | Garrison |
City |
|---|---|---|
| United States Army Europe Band and Chorus | Sembach |  Kaiserslautern, Germany
|
| United States Army Japan Band | Camp Zama |  Tokyo, Japan
|
| Army Training and Doctrine Command Band[8] | Joint Base Langley-Eustis | Newport News, VA |
| Army Maneuver Center of Excellence Band | Fort Benning | Columbus, GA |
| 1st Armored Division Band | Fort Bliss | El Paso, TX |
| 1st Cavalry Division Band | Fort Hood | Killeen, TX |
| 1st Infantry Division Band | Fort Riley | Manhattan, KS |
| 3rd Infantry Division Band | Fort Stewart | Hinesville, GA |
| 4th Infantry Division Band | Fort Carson | Colorado Springs, CO |
| 8th Army Band | Camp Humphreys |  Pyeongtaek, South Korea
|
| 9th Army Band | Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson | Anchorage, AK |
| 10th Mountain Division Band | Fort Drum | Watertown, NY |
| 25th Infantry Division Band | Schofield Barracks | Oahu, HI |
| 56th Army Band | Joint Base Lewis McChord | Tacoma, Washington |
| 77th Army Band | Fort Sill | Lawton, OK |
| 82nd Airborne Division Band and Chorus | Fort Bragg | Fayetteville, North Carolina |
| 101st Airborne Division Band | Fort Campbell | Clarksville, Tennessee |
| 282nd Army Band | Fort Jackson | Columbia, South Carolina |
| 323rd Army Band | Fort Sam Houston | San Antonio, Texas |
| 399th Army Band | Fort Leonard Wood | Waynesville |
List of Army Reserve bands[]
| Band | Garrison |
City |
|---|---|---|
| 78th Army Band | Fort Dix | Trenton, New Jersey |
| 100th Army Band | Fort Knox | Kentucky |
| 191st Army Band | Camp Parks | Dublin, California |
| 198th Army Band | Rochester, New York | |
| 204th Army Band | Vancouver, Washington | |
| 204th Army Band | St. Paul, Minnesota | |
| 208th Army Band | Concord, North Carolina | |
| 300th Army Band | Bell, California | |
| 312th Army Band | Lawrence, Kansas | |
| 313th Army Band | Birmingham, Alabama | |
| 338th Army Band | Fort McCoy | Whitehall, Ohio/Livonia, Michigan |
| 380th Army Band | Richmond, Virginia | |
| 395th Army Band | Oklahoma City | |
| 484th Army Band | Milwaukee, Wisconsin |
List of Army National Guard bands[]
| Band | Garrison | City |
|---|---|---|
| 13th Army Band | Miramar Armory | Miramar, Florida |
| 23rd Army Band | West Jordan, Utah | |
| 25th Army Band | Boise, Idaho | |
| 28th Infantry Division Band | Hollidaysburg, Pennsylvania | |
| 29th Infantry Division Band | Clifton Forge, Virginia | |
| 34th Army Band | Fairfield, Iowa | |
| 34th Infantry Division Band | Rosemount, Minnesota | |
| 35th Infantry Division | Olathe, Kansas | |
| 36th Infantry Division | Austin, Texas | |
| 38th Infantry Division | Indianapolis, Indiana | |
| 39th Army Band | Manchester, New Hampshire | |
| 40th Army Band | Colchester, Vermont | |
| 40th Infantry Division Band | Los Alamitos, California | |
| 41st Army Band | Jackson, Mississippi | |
| 42nd Infantry Division Band | Cortlandt Manor, New York | |
| 43rd Army Band | Lincoln, Nebraska | |
| 44th Army Band | Albuquerque, New Mexico | |
| 63rd Army Band | Sea Girt, New Jersey | |
| 67th Army Band | Cheyenne, Wyoming | |
| 73rd Army Band | St. Thomas, Virgin Islands | |
| 88th Army Band | East Greenwich, Rhode Island | |
| 101st Army Band | Buckley Air Force Base | Aurora, Colorado |
| 102nd Army Band | Rockville, Connecticut | |
| 106th Army Band | Little Rock, Arkansas | |
| 108th Army Band | Phoenix, Arizona | |
| 111th Army Band | Pearl City, Hawaii | |
| 116th Army Band | Marietta, Georgia | |
| 122nd Army Band | Columbus, Ohio | |
| 126th Army Band | Wyoming, Michigan | |
| 129th Army Band | Nashville, Tennessee | |
| 132nd Army Band | Madison, Wisconsin | |
| 133rd Army Band | Tacoma, Washington | |
| 135th Army Band | Springfield, Missouri | |
| 144th Army Band | Springfield, Illinois | |
| 145th Army Band | Oklahoma City | |
| 147th Army Band | Mitchell, South Dakota | |
| 151st Army Band | Montgomery, Alabama | |
| 156th Army Band | Bossier City, Louisiana | |
| 188th Army Band | Fargo, North Dakota | |
| 195th Army Band | Bangor, Maine | |
| 202nd Army Band | Frankfort, Kentucky | |
| 215th Army Band | Fall River, Massachusetts | |
| 229th Army Band | Baltimore | |
| 234th Army Band | Clackamas County, Oregon | |
| 246th Army Band | Columbia, South Carolina | |
| 248th Army Band | San Juan, Puerto Rico | |
| 249th Army Band | Morgantown, West Virginia | |
| 257th Army Band | Washington, D.C. | |
| 287th Army Band | Wilmington, Delaware | |
| 440th Army Band | Morrisville, North Carolina | |
| 721st Army Band | Barrigada, Guam |
Notable bands that existed in history[]
The mounted band of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry leads the parade of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1902.
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A U.S. Army band leads the entrance of American troops into Verdun, France in 1944.
Colored Bands[]
During World War I, the mobilization of all African-American bands became common.[9] Among them was the Band of the 369th Infantry Regiment (nicknamed the "Harlem Hellfighters Band") led by James Reese Europe who uniquely utilized black blues and jazz and notably introduced jazz to Europe.[9] The 404th Armed Service Forces Band was the only all-black all-female band in military history.[10] Other colored bands include the Band of the 107th Colored Infantry and the Band of the 805th Pioneer Infantry.[11]
Women's Bands[]
The first all-women military band, the Women's Army Band, was organized at Fort Des Moines in 1942 by Sergeant Mary Belle Nissly. By early 1943, the Women's Army Auxiliary Corps (WAAC) had been at a capacity to where it could sport five bands:[12][13]
- 400th Army Band
- 401st Army Band
- 402nd Army Band
- 403rd Army Band
- 404th Army Band
WAAC bands were later redesignated and officially activated in the Women's Army Corps (WAC) in January 1944. For a long time, the only Army Band made up of women, was the 14th Army WAC Band, which reported to the Women's Army Corps Training Center at Camp Lee in August 1948.[14]
Mounted Bands[]
In the first 100 years of the country's existence, mounted bands were relatively common in the ranks of military units. Mounted bands began to be assembled in the 1840s, taking multiple years to assemble. Mounted band that existed have included the 3rd Cavalry Regiment Mounted Band[15] and the Mounted Band of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry. Mounted bands in the US Army were ultimately disbanded in the 1930s and 40s and by the end of the Second World War, there were no mounted bands left in the U.S.[16]
Other Bands[]
- Beginning in the 1880s, the United States Army Corps of Engineers maintained a band at the U.S. Army Engineer School (then the Engineers School at Willets Point, New York). Then, it was led by Swiss immigrant Julius Hamper, and was dissolved in the early 1900s after over 20 years of service in Washington D.C.[17]
- Former service-wide bands include the Military Intelligence Corps Band, the Signal Corps Band and the Army ground forces band.
- The Seventh Army Symphony Orchestra was the only symphonic orchestral ensemble to operated in the United States Army, operating from 1952 to 1962.
- The U.S. Army All-American Marching Band was an army-sponsored civilian marching band that recruited from high school senior musicians from 2007 to 2019.
See also[]
 |
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Category:Military bands of the United States Army. |
- Marine Corps Musician Enlistment Option Program
- Navy Music Program
- List of United States Air Force bands
- United States Coast Guard Band
- United States military bands
- British military bands
- Canadian military bands
- Directorate of Music
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Historical Overview". U.S. Army. http://www.usarmyband.com/history/historical-overview.html. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "About the Corps". U.S. Army. http://www.fifeanddrum.army.mil/about.html. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
- ↑ "Touring Mission". U.S. Army. http://www.armyfieldband.com/pages/home/touring.html. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
- ↑ "Army musical performers salute veterans in concert at Kutztown University". Reading Eagle. 15 November 2016. http://www.readingeagle.com/news/article/army-musical-performers-salute-veterans-at-kutztown-university. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ↑ "West Point Band – Who We Are". U.S. Army. http://militaryacademyband.army.mil/our-story.html. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
- ↑ https://www.usarmyband.com/vacancies/conductor---army-band-programs.html
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 https://www.goarmy.com/band/locations.html
- ↑ https://history.army.mil/html/forcestruc/lineages/branches/bands/band-usatraining.htm
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Lefferts, Peter (2012). Black US Army Bands and their Bandmasters in World War I. University of Nebraska at Lincoln. pp. 4–8. http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1026&context=musicfacpub. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
- ↑ Sullivan, Jill M. (2011). Bands of Sisters: U.S. Women's Military Bands During World War II. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0810881624. https://books.google.com/?id=VsxgiwPV_a0C&pg=PA13&dq=404th+Armed+Service+Forces+band#v=onepage&q=404th%20Armed%20Service%20Forces%20band&f=false.
- ↑ https://www.worldwar1centennial.org/index.php/articles-posts/5891-five-army-bands-that-changed-music-forever.html
- ↑ http://www.public.asu.edu/~jmsulli/Webpages/wac.html
- ↑ http://www.public.asu.edu/~jmsulli/Webpages/military.html
- ↑ http://userpages.aug.com/captbarb/musicians.html
- ↑ https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/local/1978/05/05/louis-yassel-99-retired-leader-of-3rd-calvary-mounted-band/9676daf5-79ef-4d7b-95bf-4f2cf071c3fe/
- ↑ "Lauderdale author's new book looks at history of horse-mounted bands". https://www.parkbugle.org/lauderdale-authors-new-book-looks-at-history-of-horse-mounted-bands/. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
- ↑ https://www.usace.army.mil/About/History/Exhibits/Band-Koeber-Collection/
The original article can be found at List of United States Army Bands and the edit history here.