An official website of the United States government
A .mil website belongs to an official U.S. Department of Defense organization in the United States.
A lock (lock ) or https:// means you’ve safely connected to the .mil website. Share sensitive information only on official, secure websites.

Home : News : Article View
NEWS | Feb. 17, 2009

36 ID Band gains elite status among concert bands

By 2nd Lt. Adam Musil Texas National Guard

AUSTIN, Texas - With all military units comes a great degree of ceremony and fuss. Soldiers are judged by the crispness of their uniforms, how they snap to attention, their preened scalps and their ability to sound-off in unison.

Yet, for all the pomp and circumstance that goes into a typical military event, the ultimate test of a Soldier is his or her ability to perform their job under pressure.

Which begs the question; what about those units whose main job is pomp and circumstance? Are they to be judged on the merits of their accomplishments or on their ability to soldier during a crisis?

The Soldiers of the 36 Infantry Division Band are finding out the answer is both.

When then Officer Candidate Jeff Lightsey buried his face into the dirt during a routine Officer Candidate School smoke session, he believed his years of service in the 36 Infantry Division Band were over.

Lightsey had served in the band as an enlisted soldier, but after some frustrating years, he decided it was time for a change. He wanted a career that provided new challenges, and the chance to lead and manage a large contingent of soldiers.

The career of a military officer did that. Then during OCS something happened that would change his career course—the 36 ID band unit commander position was vacated and unfilled.
Immediately, Lightsey left OCS and signed up for the warrant officer program. After his training was completed, he returned to the band, this time as its leader.

Lightsey believed Texas to be a great band state and a goldmine for musicians. In his eyes, there was no reason that the division band could not be one of the best of its kind.

"When I took over the band my first priority was to push visibility, rebuild morale and raise expectations," he said.

Lightsey has been successful in completing many of his goals by raising his recruiting standards.

Under new leadership the band was given permission to recruit over strength to ensure they had slots for the best musicians they could find.

Also, any Soldier unwilling to commit to the new band standards was asked to re-evaluate their desire to stay in the band. And as Soldiers retired, Lightsey made it a point to fill that slot with a musician with stronger skills. In doing this, he fostered a positive environment with Soldiers all ready and willing to do their jobs.

"From a musical standpoint, the band challenges musicians in a way that civilian bands do not," Lightsey said when asked how he is able to recruit so many talented musicians. "This is not a high school or college band. When we compete we are competing against some of the best bands in the world."

Unlike most units which train a Soldier after recruitment, to join the band one must first audition. All new band recruits are already skilled musicians, but many of them have had little to no military training. The job of turning these musicians into soldiers falls upon a motivated group of non-commissioned officers led by First Sgt. Eddie Daffern, a percussionist.

Daffern spent most of his military career as a Marine Reservist. The Vietnam veteran left the Marine Corps after 23 years as an E-7 only to re-enlist in the Texas Army National Guard years later after a visit to the Texas Military Forces Museum.

Since being promoted to first sergeant, Daffern has ensured all band Soldiers are not only practicing their instruments but conducting Soldiers common task training as well.

"As a Marine, pride and mission accomplishment are drilled from day one and I do my best to instill that in my Soldiers," he said. "I always tell my Soldiers, that just because we are a band, we can still hold our head up high as any Soldier in any other unit, but you have to talk the talk."

The band spends a large amount of their time on the road performing. This provides little time for soldier common task training, but Daffern maintains that the band makes an extra effort to get its Soldiers trained.

This training paid off last fall when the band was activated to provide Hurricane relief during Hurricane Ike.

"We take great pride in what we do," said Sgt. Gary Brock, the tuba section leader. "During hurricane Ike I think we surprised some people. The Lieutenant who we fell under for the mission said we were the most disciplined and professional unit he had ever seen."

Lightsey said he was not surprised by his unit's performance. "We have very specific timelines for band movements that require a lot of planning and discipline. We also have a lot of combat veterans from various services in the band. For us, hurricane duty was easy."

As of today, nothing seems to be difficult for the band. In December, the division band was only the second Army Division Band and fourth Army National Guard Band to ever receive the coveted Colonel George S. Howard Citation of Musical Excellence, a prestigious international award for military concert bands.

To win the award the band did not only have to compete against other division bands, but also special bands. A special band is an organization attached to the Office of the President and is comparable to the London Symphony.

These bands are made up of active duty soldiers that have been hand picked from the best music schools across the country. Unlike division bands, special bands are not required to conduct the Soldier tasks of a troop unit.

"The award means a great deal," Daffern said. "It is an accomplishment of a goal that validates the policies we have put into place and is a benchmark for our organization."

In just a short time, the 36 Infantry Division Band has become one of the elite in the country, but Lightsey believes there is still more to achieve.

"We will continue working to become the premier National Guard band in the United States, representing the State of Texas, the Texas Army National Guard, and the 36 Infantry Division on the national and international level," he said.

 

 

Related Articles
U.S. Soldiers with the Army National Guard speak with D.C. locals while patrolling Metro Center Aug 26, 2025. About 2,000 National Guard members are supporting the D.C. Safe and Beautiful mission providing critical support to the D.C. Metropolitan Police Department in ensuring the safety of all who live, work, and visit the District.
Guard Members From Six States, D.C. on Duty in Washington in Support of Local, Fed Authorities
By Sgt. 1st Class Jon Soucy, | Aug. 29, 2025
WASHINGTON – More than 2,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from six states and the District of Columbia are on duty in Washington as part of Joint Task Force – District of Columbia in support of local and federal...

Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum, chief of the National Guard Bureau, Maj. Gen. Russel Honore, Task Force Katrina commander, and Brig. Gen. John Basilica, 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team commander, talk to news media during the aftermath of Hurricane Rita on Sep. 29, 2005. Basilica was appointed commander of Task Force Pelican, responsible for coordinating National Guard hurricane response efforts across the State. The task force included tens of thousands of National Guard Soldiers from Louisiana and other states.
Louisiana Guard’s Tiger Brigade Marks 20th Anniversary of Redeployment and Hurricane Response
By Rhett Breerwood, | Aug. 29, 2025
NEW ORLEANS – This fall, the Louisiana National Guard’s 256th Infantry Brigade Combat Team, known as the Tiger Brigade, commemorates the 20th anniversary of its redeployment from Iraq in September 2005, coinciding with the...

Alaska Air National Guard HH-60G Pave Hawk aviators and Guardian Angels, assigned to the 210th and 212th Rescue Squadrons, respectively, conduct a hoist rescue demonstration while participating in a multi-agency hoist symposium at Bryant Army Airfield on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, July 22, 2025. The symposium, hosted by Alaska Army National Guard aviators assigned to Golf Company, 2-211th General Support Aviation Battalion, included U.S. Coast Guard crews assigned to Sector Western Alaska and U.S. Arctic out of Air Stations Kodiak and Sitka, Alaska Air National Guardsmen with the 176th Wing rescue squadrons, U.S. Army aviators from Fort Wainwright’s 1-52nd General Support Aviation Battalion, Alaska State Troopers, and civilian search and rescue professional volunteers from the Alaska Mountain Rescue Group. The collaborative training drew on the participants’ varied backgrounds, experiences, and practices, to enhance hoist proficiency and collective readiness when conducting life-saving search and rescue missions in Alaska’s vast and austere terrain. (Alaska Army National Guard photo by Alejandro Peña)
Alaska Air Guard Conducts Multiple Hoist Rescues of Stranded Rafters on Kichatna River
By Staff Sgt. Seth LaCount, | Aug. 29, 2025
JOINT BASE ELMENDORF-RICHARDSON, Alaska — Alaska Air National Guard members with the 176th Wing rescued three rafters Aug. 28 after their raft flipped over on the Kichatna River.The Alaska Rescue Coordination Center opened...