Photo By Monica Wood | Warrant Officer 1 Martin Johnston, commander, 77th Army Band, conducts a rehearsal as...... read more read more
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FORT SILL, Oklahoma (Feb. 2, 2022) –Warrant Officer Martin Johnston is the embodiment of the student becoming the teacher after he put down his drumsticks and picked up a conductor’s baton.
Now he is the commander of the 77th Army Band, the pride of Fort Sill.
He assumed command of the band nearly a month ago in a change of command ceremony Jan. 5, but he has been in the band since moving to Fort Sill in December 2018 as a staff sergeant.
Johnston, who was promoted to sergeant first class in the summer of 2019, was a percussionist with the band. One of his other duties was operations sergeant, which had him coordinating concerts and other performances on post and in the community.
“My job as an operations sergeant was to ensure that I talk to the contacts and coordinate between the band and Lawton and surrounding communities, where we may play in a parade or at the McMahon Auditorium for the Christmas concert. I was already pretty well connected to the community,” said Johnston.
He was already familiar with the position and the jobs a band commander has, but most Army bands are commanded by a warrant officer.
“I wanted to be in a position to be the most influence to help my Soldiers and as a commander, I feel like I could do it,” he said. “Applying for the position of bandmaster is something I thought about doing in the past, but I wanted to wait to have enough experience to apply and feel like I was ready to move on to that step.”
When the COVID-19 pandemic hit in 2020, it delayed some of the proceedings; like looking for a bandmaster for the 77th Army Band at Fort Sill, Oklahoma.
“I ended up applying for the bandmaster position in February of 2021. The Army was only hiring one position of band commander at Fort Sill,” said Johnston.
To apply for the position, applicants had to submit their warrant officer packet plus a video of them conducting a rehearsal and leading a band. The position was opened Army-wide, and only three applicants were selected as finalists.
“Warrant officers get all kinds of specialized training, so I put my packet together for that preliminary round -- my packet was 52 pages long,” he said. “A large part of it is your resume and history of your service and background checks. You have to type it out in paragraph form and narrative form.”
Johnston was selected as one of the three finalists for the position.
“We were given six different assessments, ranging from how we would handle some musical and leadership situations to how we would handle command situations,” he said.
“There were a variety of assessments with essays. The finalists had to deliver a decision brief to a mock chief of staff about creating a summer concert series,” he added. “There was an email assessment where we were getting emails from a battalion commander at the same time from an external music requester, and they assessed how we would handle all these situations, so they could find out who handled it best and was the most qualified.”
Johnston started his service in 2006 with the West Virginia National Guard where he served eight years. In 2014, he went active duty and into the 10th Mountain Division.
“Then I served as the percussion instructor at the School of Music. So that was a fun job for sure,” he said. “Altogether, I have 16 years of service. I fully believe that I was only successful on all those assessments I had because all the experience and great leaders I had. I wouldn't have known how to tackle those assessments.”
Johnston said he was relieved when he was notified his hard work paid off.
“I made it through the Warrant Officer Board too and I was officially notified that I was selected in March.”
In the summer Johnston went to Fort Rucker for the five-week Warrant Officer Candidate School.
“I was in a class with all warrant officer candidates like administrators, intelligence and engineers, it's just all mixed because warrant officers should have the same basic knowledge. Whether specializing in music or administration or intelligence,” Johnston said. “After the five weeks at Rucker, I graduated as a Warrant Officer 1. And then, we all were asked to go to Warrant Officer Basic Course.”
In the fall, Johnston attended the School of Music in Virginia Beach, Virginia, which was a nine-week course. He graduated in the middle of November and assumed command in January of 2022.
“When I was asked if I was okay with staying here at Fort Sill, I instantly thought ‘Yes,’ because I knew we had a great group of Soldiers. Everybody loves the band and to be honest that was part of it too. Everyone on Fort Sill and in Lawton are really supportive of the band,” he said.
Johnston said being a member of the band first, set him up for success now that he’s back as the commander.
“So far, so good. It's a totally different scenario,” he said. “It's kind of surreal, sitting on one side, listening, and then moving to the other side and doing the talking, knowing I’m the one that makes the final decision. It does help guide my decision-making for sure.”
Sgt. Julia Coppoc, 77th Army Band clarinetist, knew Johnston when he was playing drums as a sergeant for the band. She said Johnston was an active leader in the band as an enlisted Soldier. Although his position has changed, his ability to lead and care for Soldiers has remained the same.
“When he decided to put in his warrant officer packet, I thought he would stand a pretty good chance at being selected,” she said. “Besides his great skill and depth of knowledge as a musician, he is a passionate leader and has a lot of experience in the Army b02ands. He brings original ideas to the table, so I knew he would be a competitive candidate.”
The band performs almost 100 times a year as a whole band and in smaller sections, at events across Texoma. Johnston, who comes from a military family, said he feels blessed to be in his new position and looks forward to the challenge of being the leader of one of Fort Sill’s most recognizable units.
“I feel extremely blessed to be able to use my passion for music to be able to serve my country. There are very few people who actually get to follow their passion like that,” said Johnston. “I knew in middle school when I started playing that I wanted to have a career in music. I didn't know it was going to be in the Army but I'm super grateful and thankful to be in this position.”
| Date Taken: | 02.02.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 02.08.2022 10:39 |
| Story ID: | 414248 |
| Location: | FORT SILL, OKLAHOMA, US |
| Hometown: | MORGANTOWN, WEST VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 115 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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