Which branch is the best to go into?
Originally posted by: Piomarine Also, in the different branches you will graduate boot camp at different pay grades. In the Marines you graduate an E-2 and graduate the school of music as an E-3. In the Navy you graduate boot as an E-3, and the school as an E-4 with the rate MU3 (Musician Petty Officer 3rd class). In the Army you graduate boot as an E-4 and stay E-4. Because the Army band MOS is so large the time it takes to pick up rank is much slower that in the Navy or Marines. You can look up the military pay charts on google...they're everywhere. Also the Navy band does offer the opportunity for a full officer commissioning. In the Army and Marines you can only become a Warrant Officer and still remain in the band field. We do not have any full commissioned officers in our field.
I can't speak at all for the Navy or Marines, despite the fact I went to school with them some years ago, but historically, the Navy and Marines were slower with promotions than the Army.
That's not so germane these days in that a lot comes into play. Advancement beyond E4 in the Army is based on competition, just as it is in the Navy and Marines (or at least it used to be). Among other things, a soldier gets "points" for things like civilian education beyond HS, awards, decorations, marksmanship, schools, additional MOS (job specialities), and most compelling, physical fitness and the number of points awarded as the result of a board, or oral examination and physical appearance before such a board.
A physical training test is required every six months. Obviously, the more you score (maximum 300 points), the more is awarded for the pending promotion. Each month, the Department of the Army publishes "cut-off scores" which are based on projected openings for each grade. In short, if you make the cut-off scores, you get promoted. If you don't, you wait.
I'm not sure if that's terribly different than the Navy/Marines, but I think it's fair to say that there are a lot of variables at play here - not just one service is quicker with promotion than another (although the Air Force will swear up and down that that's the case!)
The other item that I take exception to involves the officer ranks. Piomarine is not on target here.
The Army does indeed have commissioned officers that are part of the band program. These officers do not command bands, except for the Major Command (MACOM) bands and the premier bands (the Army Band, the Army Field Band, and the Military Academy Band at West Point). The rest are sprinkled here and there in staff positions. Just guessing here, but I'd say there might be 15-20 commissioned officers in the Army band program - not a large number in any event.
The line bands in the Army are commanded by warrant officers. These are officers who were once enlisted, but chose to specialize in music and undergo the requisite training for bandmaster/commanders. Up until just recently (maybe perhaps still, but not for long), those officers, indeed all Army personnel, attended the Army Element, School of Music, at the Naval Amphibious Base in Little Creek, VA. The SOM is a Navy school, but the Army has sent its bandsmen there for all musical training since 1963 or so. But in the next year or so, perhaps even sooner, the Army plans to reopen its own music school at Ft. Eustis, VA.
I wasn't aware that the Marine Corps did not have any commissioned officers in the Marine band program. In that sense, I learned something. Thanks, Piomarine! And thank you for your service!
U.S. Army, Retired (built mid-1950s)
Adams E2 Euph (built 2017)
Boosey & Co. Imperial Euph (built 1941)
Edwards B454 Bass Trombone (built 2012)
Boosey & Hawkes Imperial Eb tuba (built 1958)
Kanstul 33-T lBBb tuba (built 2010)