FORT MONMOUTH, N.J. -- The 82nd Airborne Division All-American Chorus visited the Myer Center here June 11 to regale employees with their a cappella singing as well as to tour the facilities of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command's communications and electronics center.
Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center Sgt. Maj. David Schumacher emphasized that the visit was a good opportunity for the Soldiers to provide meaningful feedback to the organization's scientists and engineers.
"Tell the scientists and engineers, 'This is a good piece of equipment, but it could do this; it could be better,'" Schumacher said. "It's our job to design for you."
Heeding Schumacher's advice, the Soldiers provided CERDEC scientists and engineers with enthusiastic commentary as they toured labs and learned about the center's technologies.
"The 82nd Airborne offered CERDEC invaluable feedback on the multi-touch technology being developed," said Information Technology Specialist John Oddo, who gave a presentation on the Network Operations Touch Table, a technology that aims to establish collaborative network mission execution, monitoring, and briefing.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/rdecom/4703742247/" title="82nd Airborne Division Chorus tours research center by RDECOM, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4042/4703742247_d685977fb1_m.jpg" width="160" hspace="10" align="right" height="240" alt="82nd Airborne Division Chorus tours research center" /></a>The good fortune to witness the "behind-the-scenes" work of the Army's scientists and engineers was not wasted on Staff Sgt. Jerome Coleman, the Noncommissioned-in-Charge of the 82nd Airborne Chorus.
"A lot of Soldiers throughout the military don't get the chance to see what we saw today," he said. "And now we have the opportunity to go back to some of our [fellow Soldiers] and tell them what we've seen and what's possibly going to happen in the military in the future as far as weapons systems, computers, and things of that nature go."
Because travelling throughout the entire continental U.S. is part of their gig, the chorus often gets to experience new places. Indeed, just prior to coming to New Jersey, the chorus gave a performance at the Coca-Cola 600, located in North Carolina.
"We've been all over, but we always look forward to coming to Fort Monmouth because we're so well taken care of here," said one Soldier.
Fort Monmouth's support of the Fisher House Foundation - a charitable organization that allows family members of Soldiers to reside near their loved ones during trying times (such as during illness, disease, or injury) - added further meaning to the 82nd Airborne's visit to Fort Monmouth, according to Col. (Ret.) James Costigan. To show their appreciation, the 82nd gave another show on Saturday at the "Support Our Heroes" Formal at Gibbs Hall, an occasion that specifically supports the Fisher House.
The Myer Center performance began with a choreographed number during which a barking "drill sergeant" stood onstage as his obedient Soldiers marched toward him in two uniform lines through the crowd, singing about life during wartime.
The chorus continued with several patriotic ballads such as the classic, "America the Beautiful" and Lee Greenwood's country hit "Proud to Be an American" as well as some popular tunes like The Temptations' "My Girl," The Drifters' "Under the Boardwalk," and Huey Lewis and the News' "It's Alright."
As the chorus members marched out of the auditorium, the audience demonstrated their thankfulness as well as their enjoyment, giving the young men a standing ovation.
By all appearances, the crowd agreed with the statement Costigan made prior to the performance: "This is one of those rare events when you go back to your cubicle and you say to your comrades, 'You have no idea what you missed.'"
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