msf22b
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- Aug 27, 2011
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Off topic reply:
Actually Coco, I didn't call him an idiot for punishing Allan...just said in general.
In Allan's case, he was provoked and misrepresented to (long story, which I'm not going to tell here)
but surely he deserved to be punished. It was just that the punishment was far greater than the crime.
The standard being a week in KP and a 6-month demotion.
You're also not correct about the manner in which the process unfolded. Once his orders were cut and approved by the hill, he was out the door in 24 hours with MP supervision...I think the well-known (infamous) General Westmorland was still in charge
There was no way our CO could have been anything but a messenger boy, perhaps pleading (with his supervisors) for leniency and compromise as a way to save all three "special" bands which had been threatened by this committee of powerful civilians.
The presidents of Juilliard, Eastman and Curtis and all the wind and brass principals of the NY Phil and Boston Symphony signed a statement threatening that they would never allow their students to be so treated...Meaning no future special band enlistments for their superstar pupils. Prior to that, these bands were a sort of minor leagues for the major orchestras, allowing the best students to have ample time to practice and continue to take lessons (the army paid), and get a little maturity while preparing auditions, at the same time serving their country for 3 years (enlistment required an extra year). In return, the military guaranteed you wouldn't get shot at, gave you non-commissioned rank and allowed you to come and go as you pleased so long as you showed up for all formations.
It was a reasonable, if lengthy arrangement; amazing what people will do to avoid the front lines (see Heller er al). Actually I'm researching a book about a young musician trying to avoid being sent to Korea and his letters sound exactly like Youssarian. perhaps they all do.
In my case, upon arrival at the Point, i immediately came to the conclusion that my clarinet skills would not take me far, especially after hearing a young hick from West Virginia, who became the leading practitioner of orchestral performance on that instrument from his perch in Chicago, I eshewed the ritual all-afternoon practicing, rather majored in recreational activities (wonderful facilities at West Point), skiing in the winter, tennis in the shoulder seasons and sailing in the summer.
But surely (in Alan's case) the army's decision (and it was quick), to compromise with our country's musical establishment and before a national scandal ensued was concluded at a reasonably high level. Much, much higher than a light Col.
Alan was turned around in Tokyo, detailed to the Governor's Island Band, where he was greeted by the CO with the query..."Who(m) did you kill?" He thrived there, served honorably; of course his musical accomplishments were on a much higher level than his peers and he eventually was promoted to Sgt-Major of the band, a great irony considering his checkered past at "the Point." No short-timer at West Point got anywhere close to being a Sgt-Major.
At the conclusion of his enlistment, he auditioned and was appointed principal bassoon of the LA Phil, for which he spent his career, eventually continuing to cause mayhem on becoming the union chair and in his spare time he wrote wonderful, humorous stories of the world as seen from the prospective of the bassoon. He retired with his wife to the Mountains of Wyoming, where a nice Jewish boy from Longa Island, hunts and fishes for Salmon in gushing rivers. is there no end to irony?
Just setting the record straight.
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Unfortunately during my time in the service the Military has backed down, to include the Army! Most of the time it was due to lets say political reasons to save "someone's" face.
). In my class, 417 reported in to form the class on June 25 (of "Year 1"). Four days later, 367 were sworn in...a drop of 50 people in 4 days... some due to home sickness, others due to the rigors of the "boot camp" life during the first summer, others failing key elements of the physical exam, etc. There were only 297 who completed the Freshman ("Swab") year, again, a drop of 70...due largely to the academics, home sickness, and the rigors of life at a Military Academy. When we graduated ("Year 4"), there were only 208 of us (50% attrition), 207 Commissioned as Coast Guard Officers and one as a Philippine Navy Officer. I suspect our Huskies saw how structured life is at West Point, how many demands are placed on the Students and Student-Athletes, and that when they graduate, they could easily end up in a war zone.