AFMC Command News

Band of Flight ensemble reaches deployment midpoint in Guatemala

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jennifer Kost
  • United States Air Force Band of Flight Public Affairs
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio --  The United States Air Force Band of Flight's deployed ensemble, New Harmony, is about half-way through its deployed mission onboard the Navy's USS Iwo Jima.

The group departed in July as part of a United States Southern Command humanitarian mission in support of the Navy's Operation Continuing Promise.

"Guatemala has been another fantastic country for us," said Maj. R. Michael Mench, New Harmony's officer in charge and the Band of Flight commander. "Not only was it amazingly beautiful, but we once again worked with the U.S. Embassy in Guatemala City to find locations where support for its initiatives was needed, and paired it with the strategic communications plan for Continuing Promise 2010."

New Harmony -- consisting of a traditional brass quintet, a vocalist, a drummer, and a guitarist and keyboardist -- is a part of the USS Iwo Jima crew for the 120-day deployment. This SOUTHCOM operation provides humanitarian assistance to host nations and sends messages of United States compassion, support, and commitment to the Caribbean and Latin America. The music that New Harmony brings to the mission serves as a bridge from the Continuing Promise vision to each country's citizens.

As part of the ensemble's visit to Guatemala, New Harmony put its music to work playing for more than 5,000 people. The brass quintet component provided a calming distraction at many medical sites, while the remaining trio boosted troop morale onboard the ship.

The two components joined forces in several performances to share its music with Guatemalan students and community members.

The U.S. Embassy's Access Program, a scholarship curriculum for English-as-a-Second Language university students, sponsored a New Harmony performance in Puerto Barrios, Guatemala. After finishing its performance of acoustic rock there, audience members enthusiastically rushed the stage. New Harmony members signed autographs and overcame language barriers to talk with audience members until it was time to return to the ship to prepare for another show at the nearby naval base.

The band also performed for students and community leaders in Tenedores, the starting point of the Guatemalan civil war. The performance was of particular significance because it signaled the Continuing Promise presence during the week leading up to the country's independence day celebrations.

The USS Iwo Jima recently arrived in Nicaragua, and New Harmony Airmen will be heading out to medical sites in Blue Fields.

During the remaining two months of the deployment, the Iwo Jima will anchor off the coast of Panama in Chiriqui Grande. While there, New Harmony will again perform for the local community to include school-age children and those seeking medical care.