Penn State ROTC Cadet Scott Kelly, a former All-American Bowl Marching Band member, speaks about ROTC to this year's marching band players Thursday in San Antonio, Texas. Photo by Forrest Berkshire
By Esther Dacanay
U.S. Army Cadet Command
SAN ANTONIO – Drums pound, band members march and flags sway in the wind as approximately 125 of the nation’s top high school senior marching musicians and members of the color guard undergo rigorous rehearsals for tomorrow’s halftime show at the 11th annual U.S. Army All-American Bowl.
A band clinic held Thursday at Alamo Stadium featured three current Army ROTC Cadets who are alumni of the All- American Bowl Marching Band. The Cadets talked with high school band members about options and opportunities available through Army ROTC.
Although this is the 11th year of the bowl, this is only the third year the game has hosted a marching band. Cadet Scott Kelly, a junior at Penn State University, performed that first year as a percussionist in 2008.
“Joining Army ROTC is definitely the best decision I’ve made in my entire life,” said Kelly, who told the high school band members about a few of the 150 career specialties the Army offers. “With ROTC, you can get a scholarship to pay for school and receive valuable leadership training.”
Cadet Abel Alvarado, who played trumpet in the 2009 band, told band members Army ROTC helps him pay for college, as opposed to his cousins, who graduated from Cornell and Dartmouth and are now thousands of dollars in debt.
“You may not see the Army in your future now, but you may have peers in college who are part of a great program and then you will see all the opportunities that Army ROTC can offer,” Alvarado said.
Members of the band had to meet certain criteria to be selected for the team, to include a video and audio music and marching performance audition, recommendations from high school faculty members and a high GPA.
Thousands of application packets were received, resulting in the final selection of 125 senior marching musicians and color guard members, said Col. Tom Palmatier, commander and conducter of the U.S. Army Field Band.
“We take these all-stars, and they put together a phenomenal halftime show in 26 rehearsal hours,” he said. “A show of this caliber takes most bands four to five weeks to rehearse.”
Each band member is teamed with a Cadet who helps mentor them and sometimes plays music alongside them because, Palmatier said, “it’s best for the students to talk with someone in the Army who is closer to their age and has music as a common ground.”
One such Cadet is Sarah Herrero, a sophomore who plans to major in engineering at Texas Tech University. Herrero was a member of the color guard in 2009.
“Army ROTC offers so much opportunity and a chance for freshmen to build camaraderie on campus,” Herrero said. “It’s great to already know a group of peers before school even first begins. And the cadre cares so much about every Cadet.”
Ryan Alli, a senior at Stars Mill High School in Fayetteville, Ga., will play the sousaphone with this year’s band.
“I found out about the All-American Bowl from a few of my friends from school who were USAAAMB alumni band members,” said Alli, who has been talking with an ROTC recruiter about opportunities in the Army involving pre-med and neurology. “They told me that marching in the All-American Bowl was one of the greatest experiences they ever had, and for me, I feel like it will be one of the greatest experiences I’ll ever have.”
Speaking of great experiences, Kelly said his academic study abroad in Turkey, where he also went backpacking in Syria, Jordan, Israel and Egypt, is one of the best experiences he’s had as a Cadet.
“There’s a lot of places to go in life to meet a lot of great people,” he said. “Anything you want to do in life, the Army has that exact same job with people that will take care of you, and they will get you there if you want to go.”
