Is it possible to get promoted this quickly in the Air Force? Is this typical for band members?

After reading through a lot of the comments, I see a lot of, shall we call them: "Concerns?" Regarding leadership capabilities of a 19/20 year old, band members getting special benefits, accelerated rank advancement, and comparisons with band member skill sets vs a different AFSC/MOS/RATE where stripes must be earned.

And for what it's worth, I'll also emphasize that I understand it's not all bands, but only "THE" band for each branch this happens for.

I have a few thoughts on all of this...First, I'm a realist, and to the military, it's all about the image. As active duty/reservists/veterans etc, we all know that image is paramount to the military. Always has been, always will be, like it or not. They invest a lot of $ in advertisements and recruiting campaigns. As such, because THE Band serves a role for acting as ambassadors to the public in that regard, providing a positive image and a recruiting tool, ALONG with serving the role of boosting morale through shows, it's actually money well spent, at least from a "50,000 foot view." Two birds, one stone so to speak. Now, did they ever improve my morale as an active duty airman? Or have an effect on my decision to enlist/re-enlist? No, not really. But, the general consensus is that they do, and since it has/had no real impact on me, I am cool with it.

Now, with regard to the leadership capability of a 19/20 year old E6, I fail to see that as an absolute problem. Why you may ask? Well, we have plenty of young men and women straight out of college come in as "butter bars" (no offense intended to the 2nd Lt's out there...) at the age of 21/22 and they're expected to lead units all the time. Furthermore, we all know what an E-6 with 18 yrs TIS (for example) does when they pass a brand new 2nd Lt on the sidewalk....they salute smartly, and refer to them as sir, or Lieutenant. So, tell me, how is having a 19/20 year old band member being promoted to E6 straight out of boot camp, who will never be placed in charge of an E1-E5 below them (because every one of them come in as E-6's, there would be no E-1's, 2's, 3's, 4's, or 5's in their band) REALLY any different? Perhaps I missed something along the way, but I'm just not seeing the major dilemma here.

Finally, as for the "concerns" regarding the fact that they get promoted straight away to E6, while somebody who actually has to "earn" their stripes, gets "the shaft"...Well, yeah, maybe it aint really fair, but then again none of us were really ever promised it would be were we? It's been a long time since I looked over my old enlistment contract, but I'm pretty sure there was nothing in there regarding that. Same kind of thing happens on the outside of the military as well. The big question is: Has the experience you've gained in your AFSC/MOS/RATE and the education you've gained set you up so that you don't get the shaft later? An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure after all. Do you have a great deal of talent or a refined skill set that companies are looking for to help improve their image, or greatly enhance their bottom line? Do they NEED/WANT something that only you and a relatively small number of others are capable of, or is there a lower need with a high number of qualified people available? For example, if I'm a deck swabbing shit shoveler, that can be replaced at the drop of a hat, I'm not going to be paid near the same, nor have the same promotion opportunities as somebody who is in a high demand/high profile position. They're the "face" of the company, and much harder to replace, while to the company, I'm much easier to replace, even though the shit still needs shoveled and the deck still needs to be swabbed. Likewise, regardless of how long we've both been with the "company" they'll likely make more $ on their first day, than I would in a week after being there for 10 years. And even though I may have earned the role of supervising other deck swabbers or shit shovelers, that will most likely not change the fact above. Very thankful I'm not a deck swabbing shit shoveler by the way...No offense intended to any of those out there currently in that gig, or looking at that as a profession beyond the uniform...It's just not for me.

I guess my point to all of this is: Get used to it. Complaining about what they get, isn't going to fix anything for YOU. I assure you, they won't lose any sleep at night regarding their role, and they shouldn't. If it really chaps your hide that badly, do something to increase your own earning potential/potential for rapid advancement.

Regardless of these band members talents only so many of these individuals would make Tech pay for their talents alone in the outside world. So why pay them as such. A doctor coming in...yes, promote them and pay them well. A singer, really! A singer who had a chance at going to sing in front of celebrities, who had a chance at impressing them, who had a chance at getting a record deal, a chance at going platinum and a chance at making millions. Thats a lot of what if's that need to happen to justify anyone coming in and 4 month later putting on staff and making that kind of money. Not that its a huge amount but still. I can hit the lottery tonight, but i chose to come in...Air Force pay up lol.

Yes, Col Dondi Coatin is an AF Chaplain that was stationed at Hickam and was promoted to Maj Gen.

Everything is political anymore NOT how hard you work or how dedicated you are.

This is an extraordinary circumstance. Most men and women who enter a premier band hold a master's degree and prior professional experience. The auditions are highly competitive and may generally attract 50 candidates. I should note that only a handful of these bands exist (most people enter as E-3 or E-4.) Perhaps the rank would be better suited as a warrant officer 1 or "Specialist 6" (which no longer exists, maybe they should bring it back). In terms of $$, the bands make up a tiny, tiny portion of the defense budget. For instance, the annual budget of a premier band falls in line with perhaps the cost of 2-3 tomahawk missiles.

The bands are the face of the military. It's what the civilian will see. I have attended many of the concerts the bands hold and they are consistently packed. I was a National Guard bandsman, and when I was in I played at Veterans hospitals, concert halls, outdoor venues, and in high schools. When we traveled there was a recruiter on hand (as appropriate). Premier groups do some big time gigs. They play for heads of state, for funerals of war veterans at Arlington cemetery as well as former presidents. Those bands tour nationally.

It's not typical for band members to start at E-6 - to answer the original post. The original post reflects a great deal of misunderstanding of the military musician programs. While the perks vary among the different branches, musicians in the Army Reserve and Active Army start at E-3. Soldiers successfully pass Basic Combat Training and get accelerated promotion to E-4 providing they maintain physical standards.

In the Army, you might be assigned to a Traditional Army Band, such as Fort Leonard Wood's 399th Army Band. When the band goes on block leave, an Army Reserve Band may travel to Missouri to handle the ceremonial missions and other activities, such as area concerts.

Anyone, including service members in a regular band, can audition for the special bands.

Each branch of the service has special bands. Max Impact is one of the special bands within the The U.S. Air Force Band. The Army has Pershing's Own, The Marines have The President's Own, then there's The United States Navy Band, The U.S. Air Force Band, and The U.S. Coast Guard Band. THOSE bands have accelerated promotions and other benefits, such as no entry training for the Marines and Coast Guard. The Army attends Basic Combat Training, and I'm pretty sure the Navy does, too. HOWEVER, all musicians must pass an audition that demonstrates their ability to perform and most of them sign a 4-year contract. The bottom line is that military has jobs requiring civilian-acquired skills.

If you really think military bands are a waste of the military's time and resources, I will not argue the point - I did that for 20 years as a musician in the Army Reserve. The best individuals qualified to handle that are the Generals and Admirals. If you get the chance to ask them at an event, like a Family Day, ask them what the impact would be if someone took his/her band away. I'm sure you'd get an earful of understanding - especially since if military band is working during the event.

Here's my bottom line: as someone that served for 20 years in the USAR, with 1 year active as a gate guard after Sept 11th, I respect all members of all branches that I didn't have when I first joined the military. I know there are long days, people get moved around, promotions can be scarce, and it can be a very tough life. I can understand the aggravation that other units have when they see how relatively easy it is for those in the garrison - especially musicians. Just keep in mind that we're relatively few in number and we make an impact since live music is part of our country's great military tradition.

Thank you for your service,

Peter Marshall,
SSG (Ret.)
USAR

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Sure seems to be a lot of jealousy here. This in not some new program. They were doing it when I joined in the mid sixties. They give even higher starting ranks to nurses, lawyers, chaplains, and all sorts of people in the medical professions. By the way of thinking that many here seem to have we should also be able to fill those jobs with an E1 and let them earn their rank the same as everyone else. Of course EVERYONE else doesn't do it either. I have seen many promoted with double waivers on TIG and TIS and many of the old timers resented them too. Of course none of those people would join for E1 pay so maybe we need to either reinstitute the draft or just hire civilians.

If rank is a indication of level of skill in your MOS then why are we so up in arms about this outstanding achievement! Maybe the military should catch up with the rest of the world and recognize talent and not just time?? Great job and accomplishment of you ask me!!

I am all for recognizing talent and ability. But I am also sure that this is not the way to do it.