The 1st Cavalry Division Band is a

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the tit ...

posted at

Fort Hood, Texas Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...

and assigned to the headquarters of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cla ...

's 1st Cavalry Division. It was activated in 1945.

History

On 3 March 1855, the 1st Cavalry Band was established in the Second Regiment of Cavalry. In March 1861, the band left their post in

Fort Mason Fort Mason, in San Francisco, California originated as a coastal defense site during the American Civil War. The nucleus of the property was owned by John C. Frémont and disputes over compensation by the United States continued into 1968. In 188 ...

, which was transferred to the control of the

Confederate Army The Confederate States Army, also called the Confederate Army or the Southern Army, was the military land force of the Confederate States of America (commonly referred to as the Confederacy) during the American Civil War (1861–1865), fighting ...

. It would be based in the union states, specifically

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

, for a good part of the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

. In December 1866, following the conclusion of the Civil War, the regimental band was disbanded at Camp Sedgwick, only to be reconstituted three years later, In 1916 the band participated in the Mexican Expeditionary Force led by

General of the Armies General of the Armies of the United States, more commonly referred to as General of the Armies, is the highest military rank in the United States Army. The rank has been conferred three times: to John J. Pershing in 1919, as a personal accola ...

John J. Pershing. The 1st Cavalry Division was organized in 1921, after which the associated band was reactivated and assigned to the division. The modern 1st Cavalry Division Band was activated in

Luzon Luzon (; ) is the largest and most populous island in the Philippines. Located in the northern portion of the Philippines archipelago, it is the economic and political center of the nation, being home to the country's capital city, Manila, as ...

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

on June 3, 1945 and initially formed of personnel and equipment transferred from the recently deactivated band of the 7th Cavalry Regiment, as well as personnel from the bands of the 1st and 5th cavalry regiments. During the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, the band advanced into

Pyongyang Pyongyang (, , ) is the capital and largest city of North Korea, where it is known as the "Capital of the Revolution". Pyongyang is located on the Taedong River about upstream from its mouth on the Yellow Sea. According to the 2008 populatio ...

and was the first American military band to perform in the North Korean capital following its fall to United States and South Korean forces in the Battle of Pyongyang. It later suffered a casualty rate exceeding 33-percent during the American withdrawal from

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 ...

Taegu Daegu (, , literally 'large hill', 대구광역시), formerly spelled Taegu and officially known as the Daegu Metropolitan City, is a city in South Korea. It is the third-largest urban agglomeration in South Korea after Seoul and Busan; it is ...

after the Chinese-North Korean victory in the

Third Battle of Seoul The Third Battle of Seoul, also known as the Chinese New Year's Offensive, the January–Fourth Retreat ( ko, 1•4 후퇴) or the Third Phase Campaign Western SectorThe Eastern Sector is the First and Second Battles of Wonju. (), was a battle ...

. In 1953 the band was downsized from 96 to 48 troopers and, the following year, assigned secondary duty as a smoke generator unit. Jeanne Pace was appointed bandmaster of the 1st Cavalry Division Band in 1985, becoming the first female bandmaster in the history of the United States Army. On July 3, 1965, the band participated in the retiring of the colors of the 11th Air Assault Division, and organization of the new 1st Cavalry Division. Throughout the 1960s, the band served multiple tours in Vietnam performing concerts, participating in village support missions, and physical security. This included multiple tours, and rotations in Vietnam that resulted in the loss of seven musicians; three times, the band lost two members in single attacks in 1966, and twice in 1969. According to the U.S. Army, on April 8, 2004 – during the United States occupation of Iraq – the band survived an ambush and attack with

rocket propelled grenade A rocket-propelled grenade (RPG) is a shoulder-fired missile weapon that launches rockets equipped with an explosive warhead. Most RPGs can be carried by an individual soldier, and are frequently used as anti-tank weapons. These warheads are ...

s fired by insurgents en route to perform at an officer commissioning ceremony of the Iraqi Civil Defense Corps. Bandsmen involved in the action received the

Combat Action Badge The Combat Action Badge (CAB) is a United States military award given to soldiers of the U.S. Army of any rank and who are not members of an infantry or special forces MOS, for being "present and actively engaging or being engaged by the enemy, a ...

. In addition to its service during the Korean War and the

2003 invasion of Iraq The 2003 invasion of Iraq was a United States-led invasion of the Republic of Iraq and the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 ...

, the band has also been deployed overseas during the

Vietnam War The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...

and

Operation Joint Forge The Stabilisation Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina (SFOR) was a NATO-led multinational peacekeeping force deployed to Bosnia and Herzegovina after the Bosnian war. Although SFOR was led by NATO, several non-NATO countries contributed troops. I ...

. As of 2012, it was one of three active duty U.S. Army bands posted in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

. When on parade, the

marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

wears the division's trademark black "Cav Hat".

Unit decorations

The 1st Cavalry Division Band is the recipient of eight

Meritorious Unit Commendation The Meritorious Unit Commendation (MUC; pronounced ''muck'') is a mid-level unit award of the United States Armed Forces. The U.S. Army awards units the Army MUC for exceptionally meritorious conduct in performance of outstanding achievement or s ...

s, three Republic of Vietnam Crosses of Gallantry, the

Commonwealth of the Philippines The Commonwealth of the Philippines ( es, Commonwealth de Filipinas or ; tl, Komonwelt ng Pilipinas) was the administrative body that governed the Philippines from 1935 to 1946, aside from a period of exile in the Second World War from 1942 ...

Presidential Unit Citation, and the Cross of Valour of the

Greek state Greece,, or , romanized: ', officially the Hellenic Republic, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the southern tip of the Balkans, and is located at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Greece shares land borders with ...

, among others.

Unit structure

Leadership

*Band Commander: Major Curtis Kinzey *Band

Executive Officer An executive officer is a person who is principally responsible for leading all or part of an organization, although the exact nature of the role varies depending on the organization. In many militaries and police forces, an executive officer, o ...

: First Lieutenant Richard Vilglucci *Band NCOIC: Sergeant Major Thomas Mactaggart *Human Resources Officer: Sergeant First Class Robert Calkins *Operations Officer: Sergeant First Class Alan Herold *Personnel Officer: Sergeant First Class Michael Mosley *Logistics Officer: Sergeant First Class Jose Peña

Ensembles

Marching band A marching band is a group of instrumental musicians who perform while marching, often for entertainment or competition. Instrumentation typically includes brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. Most marching bands wear a uniform, ofte ...

Concert band A concert band, also called a wind band, wind ensemble, wind symphony, wind orchestra, symphonic band, the symphonic winds, or symphonic wind ensemble, is a performing ensemble consisting of members of the woodwind, brass, and percussion famil ...

*Woodwind Quintet *Brass Quintet *Jazz Combo *

Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

Notable personnel

* Claude Batchelor –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

player convicted of collaboration with the enemy during the

Corrin Campbell Corrin Campbell is a vocalist, bassist, songwriter, and entrepreneur. Corrin was an active-duty soldier in the United States Army, stationed with United States Army Recruiting Command at Fort Knox, KY from 2011 to 2017. Campbell was the only or ...

bass guitar The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...

and

vocalist Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

- pop-punk musical artist, formerly the only independent artist endorsed by US Army Recruiting Command as a touring recruiting partner

References

External links

* *
2015 video of the 1st Cavalry Division Band from WFAA-TVBand Performing on July, 4th, 2006 of July Concert Baghdad, Iraq
from

Defense Visual Information Distribution Service The Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS), formerly the "Defense Video & Imagery Distribution System," is an operation supported by the Defense Media Activity (DMA). It provides a connection between world media and the American ...

{{Authority control Bands of the United States Army Military units and formations established in 1945