Photo By Master Sgt. Michael Battles | U.S. Air Force Staff Sgt. Sierra Kukan, U.S. Air Forces in Europe Band vocalist, sings...... read more read more
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To foster relationships on the African continent and share a
love for music, the U.S. Air Forces in Europe and Rwanda Defence Force bands combined to perform during the 2022 African Air Chiefs Symposium, Jan. 24-28, 2022, in Kigali, Rwanda.
The 11th installment of AACS, co-hosted by the RDF and U.S. Forces Air Forces Africa this year, brought together 32 African air chiefs to identify key challenges confronting the air chiefs, strengthen partner networks, discuss strategic airlift, and share best practices for enhancing partner capacity.
The combined band kicked off the week by performing a variety of American and Rwandan music for distinguished guests, including U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Rwanda Peter H. Vrooman, President of the Republic of Rwanda Paul Kagame, and leaders from 36 African nations.
“The [USAFE] band is here to help demonstrate and promote the spirit of camaraderie between the United States and our African partners,” said U.S. Air Force 1st Lt. Brian O’Donnell, USAFE Band flight commander. “When we perform the U.S. and Rwandan anthems back to back with a Rwanda-U.S. coalition, we show through our music that not only do we work and stand together, but we are stronger together.”
The sentiment was shared by RDF Military Band Commander Lt. Col. Gilbert Ndayisabye.
“The AACS joint performances of RDF and USAFE bands was a great opportunity to exchange experience and skills of our respective musical cultures,” Ndayisabye explained. “The songs played have undoubtedly touched the hearts of the military dignitaries who came from all over the African continent and beyond for this event.”
The combined band solidified the relationship between the two musical groups while helping show the countries’ commitment to their partners and allies..
“This has certainly built a strong bond between the two bands,” he said. “We are thankful for the opportunity to work with these very gifted artists from the USAFE band and we look forward to more joint performances in the future.”
Tech. Sgt. Bryan Connolly, USAFE Band alto saxophonist and NCO in charge of the The Ambassadors Jazz Ensemble, stated that even though communication was sometimes hard between the two bands due to the language barrier their love for music would help them accomplish the mission of sharing each other's cultures with the symposium attendees.
“Music is an international language,” Connolly stated. “As an American, I am unable to speak Kinyarwanda, the native language of Rwanda, but I am able to communicate instantly through music. We are able to tell the ‘US Story’ in a way that no speech ever could.”
O’Donnell summed up the week by saying, “Working with the RDF Band has been one of my favorite military experiences so far in my career.”
The next AACS will be co-hosted by Senegal in 2023.
| Date Taken: | 01.28.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 01.28.2022 11:16 |
| Story ID: | 413606 |
| Location: | KIGALI, RW |
| Web Views: | 63 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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