Pentagon Playing 'Taps' for Military Bands and Entertainment Shows

As recently as 2010, the Pentagon budgeted more than $500 million per year for military bands, with the largest chunk of that -- $195 million -- allocated to Army bands. The Marines in that year sponsored 600 musicians in 12 bands, costing $35 million, according to government figures.

Across the entire military, taxpayers were being asked to spend $1.5 billion annually on music and entertainment programs, according to one analysis.

But the winds of fiscal austerity surging through the Defense Department, as well as new spending priorities, have led to plans to shut down many of the military's best-known music and entertainment programs.