TUSAB's potential future leaders re-enlist

By Guv CallahanDecember 5, 2014

TUSAB's potential future leaders reenlist
1 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Col. Thomas H. Palmatier, left, commander of The U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own," administers the Oath of Enlistment to Soldiers from the band during a mass reenlistment ceremony Nov. 25 at the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall. The... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL
TUSAB's potential future leaders reenlist
2 / 2 Show Caption + Hide Caption – Col. Thomas H. Palmatier, left, commander of The U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own," poses for a photograph with Staff Sgt. Regan Brough, bassist with The U.S. Army Blues, following a mass reenlistment ceremony Nov. 25 at the Fort Myer portion of Joint ... (Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

JOINT BASE MYER-HENDERSON HALL, Va. - Members of the U.S. Army Band "Pershing's Own" gathered Nov. 25 as their comrades re-enlisted during a ceremony in the lobby of Brucker Hall on the Fort Myer portion of Joint Base Myer-Henderson Hall.

In total, 17 Soldiers from various sections of the band extended their contracts with the Army and their commitment to the nation.

Band Leader and Commander Col. Thomas H. Palmatier was the ceremony's presiding officer, and before prompting the Soldiers to swear their allegiance to the Constitution of the United States, he said he was particularly excited about the service members in front of him.

"When we do one of these, I go through and read everybody's bio and take some time thinking about every one of them, and just what it means for them to be reenlisting," Palmatier said. "And with this group, which is mostly senior staff sergeants and junior sergeants first class, I kind of felt like I was peering into a time machine, and I was able to see the sergeants major and master sergeants of about 10 years or so from now."

Palmatier, who retires Dec. 12 after 37 years of service in the Army, reminded the reenlisting Soldiers that they could one day be the leaders of the The U.S. Army Band.

"This is the senior leadership of TUSAB of the not-too-distant future, and all of you know how fast time goes by. Before you all know it, you will be running this place," he said. "But as I looked at each one of these bios and thought about each one of these people I just got really excited. I just thought, I can't wait to get into work with a group of people like this, that's going to be the heart and soul of our unit in the future."

A full list of the re-enlisting service members can be found below:

Chorus

• Staff Sgt. Andre McRae, Philadelphia, three years

• Staff Sgt. Matthew Perry Heil, Pine Mountain Valley, Georgia, three years

Blues

• Staff Sgt. Victor Manuel Barranco, North Pole, Alaska, six years

• Staff Sgt. Regan Jesse Brough, Orem, Utah, three years

Strings

• Staff Sgt. Hrant Parsamian, Plovdiv, Bulgaria, three years

Downrange

• Staff Sgt. Chad B. Leader, Chesapeake, Virginia, indefinitely

• Staff Sgt. Christopher James Rettig, Ayersville, Ohio, four years

Army Voices

• Staff Sgt. Brendan McCollum Curran, Fairbanks, Alaska, four years

Ceremonial

• Staff Sgt. Evan Joseph-Silbert Geiger, Simi Valley, California, three years

• Staff Sgt. Matthew Stephen Byrne, Louisville, Kentucky, indefinitely

• Sgt. 1st Class Robert Jensen Moore, Denton, Texas, indefinitely

• Staff Sgt. Michelle Renee Acton, Plano, Texas, indefinitely

• Sgt. 1st Class Shawn Anthony Hagen, Paragould, Arkansas, indefinitely

• Staff Sgt. Erik John Ramos, Saint John, Indiana, three years

Concert Band

• Staff Sgt. David Curtis Kirven, Paris, Texas, indefinitely

• Staff Sgt. Richard Kelly Satterwhite, Baytown, Texas, indefinitely

Support

• Sgt. 1st Class Emily R. Leader, Chicago, indefinitely