List of United States Army Bands

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.

The 4th Infantry Division Band during the 5th annual Trinidad Armed Forces Day parade.

Premier ensembles

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The Army Field Band in early 2013.
Ensemble Activated
Garrison
 
U.S. Army Band
1922[1]
 
U.S. Army Field Band
1946[2][3][4]
 
Old Guard Fife
and Drum Corps
1960[2]
 
West Point Band
1817[5]

List of active regional bands

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The 1st Cavalry Division Band during a color uncasing ceremony at Knight Field upon return from the Iraq War, 1 May 2005.

[6][7]

Band Garrison
City
United States Army Europe Band and Chorus Sembach   Kaiserslautern, Germany
United States Army Japan Band Camp Zama   Sagamihara, Japan
Army Training and Doctrine Command Band[8] Joint Base Langley-Eustis Newport News, VA
Army Maneuver Center of Excellence Band Fort Moore Columbus, GA
1st Armored Division Band Fort Bliss El Paso, TX
1st Cavalry Division Band Fort Cavazos 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
10th Mountain Division Band Fort Drum Watertown, NY
11th Airborne Division Band Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson Anchorage, AK
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 Liberty 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, Missouri

List of Army Reserve bands

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[7]

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/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

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[7]

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 Troutville, 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 Camp Smith (New York) 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 Wheatland, 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 Chicago, 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

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The mounted band of the 2nd U.S. Cavalry leads the parade of the Grand Army of the Republic in 1902.
 
A U.S. Army band leads the entrance of American troops into Verdun, France in 1944.

Colored bands

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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

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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

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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

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Historical Overview". armyband.com. U.S. Army. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  2. ^ a b "About the Corps". fifeanddrum.army.mil. U.S. Army. Retrieved 17 March 2016.
  3. ^ "Touring Mission". armyfieldband.com. U.S. Army. Retrieved 16 March 2016.
  4. ^ "Army musical performers salute veterans in concert at Kutztown University". Reading Eagle. 15 November 2016. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  5. ^ "West Point Band – Who We Are". army.mil. U.S. Army. Retrieved 7 December 2016.
  6. ^ "Conducting".
  7. ^ a b c "U.S. Army Band Locations".
  8. ^ "United States Army Training and Doctrine Command Band | Lineage and Honors | U.S. Army Center of Military History".
  9. ^ a b Lefferts, Peter (2012). Black US Army Bands and their Bandmasters in World War I. University of Nebraska at Lincoln. pp. 4–8. Retrieved 21 November 2015.
  10. ^ Sullivan, Jill M. (2011). Bands of Sisters: U.S. Women's Military Bands During World War II. Scarecrow Press. ISBN 978-0810881624.
  11. ^ "Five WWI Army African American Bands That Changed Music Forever - World War I Centennial".
  12. ^ "Women's Army Corps Bands".
  13. ^ "Women's Military Band Research".
  14. ^ "Military Women Musicians".
  15. ^ Richard Pearson (1978-05-05). "Louis Yassel, 99, Retired Leader Of 3rd Calvary Mounted Band". The Washington Post. Washington, D.C. ISSN 0190-8286. OCLC 1330888409.
  16. ^ "Lauderdale author's new book looks at history of horse-mounted bands". Park Bugle. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  17. ^ "Julius Kamper and the U.S. Engineer Band".