Photo By Sgt. Darbi Colson | U.S. Army Musicians assigned to the Tropic Lightning Brass Band, 25th Infantry...... read more read more
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SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, Hawaii – When the 25th Infantry Division Tropic Lightning Brass Band pulled up to a local park in Martapura, Indonesia Aug. 6, 2022, to perform a community outreach concert, they were not expecting to be graciously and enthusiastically greeted by a crowd of over 2,000. For both spectators and musicians, it was an unforgettable experience.
U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Jonathan Crane, the band commander assigned to the 25th Infantry Division Band, 25th Infantry Division, and the musicians under his leadership fill an important role in today’s Army by enhancing human connection and understanding through music.
While in Hawaii, Crane leads the band in making a difference in the lives of U.S. Army Soldiers by adding a musical touch at events and ceremonies, however, like all Army missions, the objective is not restrained by borders.
Crane and the Tropic Lightning Brass Band, an eight-member ensemble, recently completed a three-week mission to Indonesia in support of Super Garuda Shield 2022, a long-standing military exercise between the U.S. Military and Indonesia to increase joint readiness and interoperability.
“There are two main aspects of the band’s mission,” said Crane. “One is to provide moral support to all the troops here and to make sure that they are still having a good time and that they can have some fun between all the training going on. The second part of that mission is reaching out to the local populace so they can have a positive image of the American Soldier.”
The Tropic Lightning Brass Band held daily engagements during Super Garuda Shield, including concerts at the training area with crowds of U.S., Indonesian, and Australian troops and three different events for community members and college students around Baturaja, Indonesia.
During the concerts, the band played popular American and Indonesian pop songs, but Crane, an experienced musician and Army leader, knew there was more happening than what met the eye.
Through the band’s music, a connection and partnership was being formed, said Crane.
“Even though our speaking language is different, it is very easy to connect once we start playing music,” he said. “We all just understand each other on a human level.”
“It has been a lot of fun to see them get so excited about it,” said Crane about the crowd after the band completed a community outreach concert at a park. “I think the novelty of it is seeing U.S. Soldiers play some songs they recognize.”
Nisfa Syabaniah Pane, a member of the Paskibraka Oku Timur Colorguard, watched one of the band’s concerts surrounded by her uniformly dressed peers, jumping and screaming in between songs.
Pane said that the opportunity to watch the Tropic Lightning Brass Band was a break from her normal, busy schedule yet simultaneously made her think about her schoolwork.
“Seeing the Soldiers pushed me to be more disciplined in my studies,” she said. “It really motivated me and I will remember this forever.”
Crane said that hearing the influence of the band highlighted the mission's success and the influence that music brings to the U.S. Army.
“I think the importance of it is that music is a conduit to open people’s hearts and their minds to something and to get them feeling comfortable,” said Crane. “When they see United States Soldiers out there it can give them a different impression of the Soldier. Obviously, we train to defend our country but also it portrays that we are human beings too. It is the human-to-human connection that is very important, in my view, and music is an essential part of being a human being, so it makes it easy to make that connection with other people.”
Crane hopes that the positive reception of the band in Indonesia was an indicator of the overall partnership between the two nations and contributed to the foundation of a relationship that can be built upon in years to come.
“The Free and Open Indo Pacific is where it’s at,” said Crane. “It’s a challenging world out there but we hope that music, being a small sliver of the mission of Garuda Shield, helps to bring people together.”
| Date Taken: | 08.15.2022 |
| Date Posted: | 09.06.2022 19:45 |
| Story ID: | 428712 |
| Location: | SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII, US |
| Web Views: | 100 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Beyond borders and language barriers: 25th Infantry Division Band encourages partnership, understanding through music, by SGT Darbi Colson, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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