New U.S. AFCENT Band arrives in theater

Photo By Master Sgt. Dillon White | Airman 1st Class Jill Diem, Reserve Generation vocalist, Tech. Sgt. David Vittetoe, drummer, and Master Sgt. Aaron Miles, vocalist and NCO in charge, perform at their second deployed gig in Southwest Asia, Feb. 27. Reserve Generation is the current U.S. Air Forces Central Command Band.  

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03.03.2010

Story by Senior Airman Dillon White 

United States Air Forces Central           

SOUTHWEST ASIA -- Reserve Generation, the newest U.S. Air Forces Central Command Expeditionary Band, has palletized its sound board, amps, guitars, drum kit and microphones, and boarded the "tour bus," which will airlift the first stop on the group's tour of the AOR.

The five musicians and sound technician performed their first shows here Feb. 26 and 27 after fully forming the band less than two months ago. The next stop is the Transit Center at Manas, Kyrgyzstan.

"It's going amazingly well," said Tech. Sgt. David Vittetoe, Reserve Generation's drummer. "We just added our guitarist in January and we've just taken off.

"Our box has gone from this -- to this" Vittetoe said, spreading his hands apart to arms length. "It's hard to spin up a group from inception. And we've taken what usually takes six months to a year, and done it in less than two months — to get that chemistry going."

The band opened their first gig at the Oasis Club here, with "Life is a Highway," originally written by Tom Cochrane in 1991.

Each of the three vocalists, Master Sgt. Aaron Miles, Airman 1st Class Jill Diem and Senior Airman Josh Byrd, sang during every song but each singer took turns fronting the band for each musical genre in the quintet's repertoire — R&B, country, rock and alternative.

Miles sang Mack Rice's "Mustang Sally," Diem led the group in "Misery Business," by Paramore, and Byrd, the band's guitarist even led vocals in a cover of "Sweet Home Alabama," a-la Kid Rock.

While the band quickly spun-up for their deployment, Diem, who graduated from basic training Sept. 15, 2009, had a fast-paced, personal transition.

The second day at her duty station, her commander delivered the news that she would be deploying — soon.

"I might be the newest member of the Air Force in the AOR," she said. "When I heard the news I was absolutely thrilled and really excited to deploy. These are countries I never thought I would visit in a million years — things I never thought I would see."

Vittetoe, a 12-year Air Force veteran and son of a Navy bandsman, said he is also excited to be in the AOR for his first time, as he will now have deployment stories to share with his father.

"When he found out I was going into the military he was thrilled to death — it created a common bond," Vittetoe said. "For me, I love nothing more than to sit down and listen to him tell me deployment stories about cruises to Southeast Asia on the [USS] Enterprise and the [USS] America."

Both band members said they are looking forward to bringing Soldiers, Airmen, Sailors and Marines a "taste of home," as Vittetoe worded it, as well as foster relationships with host nations through music.

• Date Taken: 03.03.2010
• Date Posted: 03.03.2010 23:43
• Story ID: 46120
• Location: (UNDISCLOSED LOCATION)