Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class April Enos | The United States Navy Band holds a change of command ceremony onboard the Washington...... read more read more
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WASHINGTON - (June 14, 2024) Cmdr. Robert “Seph” Coats relieved Capt. Kenneth Collins as the commander of U.S. Navy Music and commanding officer of the U.S. Navy Band Friday, June 14, 2024, in the historic Sail Loft onboard the Washington Navy Yard, where the Navy’s premier musical organization is headquartered. Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Lisa Franchetti presided over the ceremony which also commemorated the 35-year career and retirement of Collins.
Franchetti spoke about the significance of Navy Music to the Navy’s greater mission in her address to the audience, “Navy bands continue to maximize their outreach around the world through their unwavering and unprecedented professionalism. They provide the music our nation needs, whether for honoring the fallen, enhancing theatre security, or providing diplomatic support.”
Collins received the Legion of Merit from Franchetti for his many accomplishments while serving at Navy Band. Under his leadership, the U.S. Navy Band performed 12,159 missions for live audiences exceeding 11 million, including the president and the highest levels of military and civilian leadership across the Department of Defense and allied partner nations. Around the world, nine fleet bands supported 181 Fleet and Navy Weeks, as well as deployments across six continents in support of Pacific Partnership, Continuing Promise, BALTOPS, Africa Partnership Station and Talisman Saber.
Following the award presentation, Collins took the podium for his final address as commanding officer.
“Every day I came to work here, I got to work with people who are in the top 1% of their profession, the very best in the world at what they do,” Collins said during his final address as commanding officer. "In today’s warfighting environment, where war is waged in places other than just the traditional battlefield, what could possibly be a more effective means of winning hearts and minds that through the power of music?”
After the reading of orders and the official change of command was acknowledged by Franchetti, Coats took the podium and called the prospect of replacing Collins a “daunting task.” Coats went on to thank Collins for the mentor and role model he had been to every Sailor across Navy Music.
“Next year, the Navy Band will celebrate its 100th anniversary. Together, we will chart the course for the next 100 years,” Coats continued. “There will be challenges along the way, but in all challenges, we have an advantage; our musician Sailors have an always-improving mindset.”
Collins earned a Bachelor of Music Education from the University of Nevada and then enlisted in the Navy fleet bands as a percussion instrumentalist in 1989. He went on to earn a Master of Business Administration from the University of Hawaii and a Music of Music from the University of Illinois, both while serving. He was first assigned to Navy Band Guam and Navy Band Northeast before commissioning as a limited duty officer. His first assignment as a junior officer was to Navy Band Washington, D.C., as an associate conductor. He then went on to serve as the assistant director of the U.S. Naval Academy Band, before leading fleet bands in Washington, Hawaii, Florida and Italy. He then reported as head of the Navy Music Program and director of Fleet Band activities in Millington, Tennessee, before being selected as the 14th leader and fourth commanding officer of the United States Navy Band in October 2015.
Cmdr. Robert “Seph” Coats began his Navy career in 1997 as an enlisted musician after winning a national audition as a string bass instrumentalist with the United States Navy Band Commodores in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining, he earned a Bachelor of Music from the University of New Mexico, and went on to earn a Master of Music in performance from The Catholic University of America and a Master of Music in conducting from Arizona State University, both while serving on active duty. In 2008 he was commissioned as a limited duty officer and led fleet bands in Washington, Virginia and Italy. His Navy Music positions also include tours as deputy director/rating assignment officer for Fleet Band Activities and as chief staff officer for U.S. Navy Music.
| Date Taken: | 06.14.2024 |
| Date Posted: | 06.14.2024 19:13 |
| Story ID: | 474075 |
| Location: | DISTRICT OF COLUMBIA, US |
| Web Views: | 561 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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