Tag: EVENTS

This year the Army helped usher in the 100th Year Anniversary of the NAACP. What an event!!! There were various notable individuals that participated in this week long convention consisting of seminars, luncheons, dinners and award banquets. Our 44th President of the United States and my Commander In-Chief, President Barack Obama was the keynote speaker at the 94th Spingarn Awards. This year’s theme was “NAACP 100 Years: Bold Dreams-Big Victories”. I personally had the privilege and honor of hearing our President speak live at this event. I like most of the people in attendance heard one of the most powerful and moving speeches in recent time. This was a great venue to deliver the Army’s many powerful messages highlighting service to community and opportunities thru education.

ARMY STRONG!!!
ARMY ROTC…

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If you have not seen the 2009 Army Soldier Show, you are missing out on an individual and collective experience. The show has always been great to watch but this year the energy is amazing coupled with showcasing the variety, flexibility and talent of our Non-commissioned-officers (NCO) makes this a second to none experience. I took the whole family including the little ones and the variety in tempo of music, stage props and movement allowed all of us to enjoy a 2-hour action packed show. It also highlighted that soldiers have many talents that are only skin-deep unless given the opportunity and environment to display those talents to internal and external audiences. This is one of those opportunities. I recommend to anyone. As they move around the country from post to post, recommend you visit:
http://www.armymwr.com/recleisure/entertainment/soldiershow/default.aspx to see their schedule.

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The Essence show in New Orleans was great. I had a chance to experience the great show but also able to meet several people at the Army's booth while at the event. It had a rock wall, a stage for the push up challenge and I had a chance to do mourning work outs with Coca Cola in the morning when people were coming in to the event. With the help of the army boxing team we were able to pump up the crowd get many different age groups on the stage to do push up and also show them with a little motivation they can really do the real pushups Army style with the Drill Sergeant. This was a great event I loved every day I went to the concert and the best part was when the Army had a main stage event. CSM King introduced several service members and me for the second night in the row and for a brief couple seconds we were able tell why we were Army strong. This was great I was on the same stage where Beyonce, John Legend, Al Green, and many other stars were on and the Army was on the same stage doing our thing representing the country. It was an unforgettable experience.

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The Field Band has been out on the road quite a bit this month for Summer Tour. We played some really nice concerts and the weather has been fabulous, which is good because many of the gigs were outdoors.  This first picture is from Boardman, Ohio on July 3rd. Lots of sweet fireworks after the show. 

Our 4th of July was spent in Pittsburgh, PA at a huge celebration on the Allegheny River. This was one of the largest and most challenging set-ups I've seen yet. There was an extremely small stage at the edge of the bank that was way too small for the band. We had a fun time squeezing all the chairs, stands, and audio equipment up there. Then we added all the people and instruments. My chair was about five inches from the edge of a good drop. To make things even more interesting, the Soldier's Chorus and Percussion section were on an actual Corp of Engineers barge that was floating in the river behind the stage. Things got wobbly when the speedboat races started and the barge started rocking. Despite the logistical challenges, this was a fun concert. The crowd was huge and we played right up until the fireworks began. Great way to celebrate America's B-day!

Here I am posing with some American Legion guys before a concert in New York.

My little brother, the 2nd LT, got married on June 27th. I was able to fly out to attend the ceremony in Houston and then meet up with the band on tour. 

Some of most memorable moments of tour occur after our work for the day is complete and we get to explore the interesting small towns we end up in. Here is fellow soldier, SSG Brendan Curran, attempting to demolish the 2lb burger challenge at Denny's Beer Barrel Pub in Clearfield, PA. Seeing as the burger was loaded with a ridiculous number of toppings, was as big as his head, and weighed over 5lbs once fully cooked and dressed, we didn't give him TOO hard of a time when he had to gracefully bow out at the end. At least his meat sweat and shakes at the end proved he had given it his all. 

At the moment we are on leave before the second phase of Summer Tour starts up again. I'm enjoying the time off in Colorado and Texas with some hiking and brew pub tours. 

Here I am savoring the sweet flavors at O'Dells. 

Gotta love the domesticated wildlife! 

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What an event! So far Day 1 and Day 2 of the Essence Music Festival was nothing short of stellar. The entertainers, exhibits, but most of all the people are what makes this event what it is. John Legend, Robin Thicke, Neyo, Beyonce were all big hits but the surprise came last night with Charlie Wilson. He really put on a show and had the Superdome crowd loving every minute of it. You can tell when walking around the convention center that the Army message is starting to resonate throughout the Essence Music Festival particpants. Our Strength in Action Zone exhibit has been a BIG HIT! There are a lot of people who are open to learning more about the Army in all it's capacities. The dinners that we host prior to each concert night has provided a focused setting to gain a committment of advocacy between senior Army leaders and centers of inlfluence. We'll off to another preparation meeting. Until next time.....

Army Strong
Army ROTC......HOOAH!
CPT ROGER M. CABINESS II

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I can’t think of a better way to start my “Blogging” career than to have the opportunity to participate in an event that has such a positive impact on the Great City of New Orleans. Currently on day 1 of the the Essence Music Festival and there is a sense of excitement and joy that surrounds the people as they enter the convention center. I will add more details later but the day is moving fast and furious with a lot of anticipation for tonight’s concert! Tune in next time to see some pictures and to see my thoughts for the day.

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Today is definately one of those bittersweet days. Our Battalion Commander was frocked to Colonel and we had a change of command. A promotion is always special and being promoted to a full-bird colonel shows the Department of the Army has just as much faith in his leadership abilities as we, his Soldiers have in him. He's been an outstanding leader and mentor and will be missed. It is especially hard to watch him go because he has so much invested in the Battalion. This is a reactivated battalion in a transformed brigade and he's set us up for success as we prepare to deploy.

I'm especially feeling a lot of empathy because I'm in a similar situation with a happier, at least in my estimation, outcome. He was a Lieutenant Colonel who was selected for a promotion to Colonel but was serving as a commander in his current grade. For the Army that means making the decision of leaving him in place in a position below his grade or selecting him for a job in his new grade. The Army rightfully, though sadly (at least for me!) selected him for a Colonel's postion in Iraq. I am commanding as a captain, in a captain's billets, but have just made the Major's list. I'll probably be promoted sometime this winter. I'm extremely grateful that the Army has agreed to leave me in place so that I can deploy with the company I built from the ground up.

In August of 2008, I activated and took command of my little Network Support Company. In the begining it was only me and one Platoon Leader sharing the office, and duties of, the Brigade S6. Now we've grown to a full company able to support an entire Battlefield Surveillance Brigade with a tactical network. My Soldiers constantly amaze me and I imagine this is a little like parents feel about their children. They looked good out on the parade field today and I was proud to lead them. Here'a little clip of me marching them, please keep in mind that as an officer I hadn't marched Soldiers in about 10 years. And before you ask, yes, I am THAT short. :-)

One of the best things about the Army is that if you don't like your job, well, you're only in it for a year or two. One of the worst things about the Army is that if you love your job, well, you're only in it for a year or two. The one constant in the Army is change and although I'm extremely saddened to see a great commander go, I am simultaneously excited to see the changes the new commander will bring. Nessum Dorsum.

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I thought I'd post some highlights from the past month or so. Our unit's schedule is a little different. We are on TDY a little over 100 days out of they year. That's when we do our main tours and travel all over the country. Right now we are in the middle of our "off-season" before we head out on Summer tour. We've been keeping quite busy with rehearsals and some pretty unique performances. One of the most poignant was our send-off for Colonel (Ret.)  Finley R. Hamilton at Arlington National Cemetery. Experiencing a full honors funeral is very powerful and getting to be a part of the music was a great honor. This photo was taken by SFC Rob McIver. 

The Field Band has a Chamber Music Series that hosts concerts that feature our members throughout the D.C. area. I had the opportunity to play on one of the most recent recitals. I'm performing the euphonium solo "Pearls." The church that was our concert sponsor was beautiful and was a nice space to play in, acoustically. 

We played a concert in Portsmouth, Virginia about a week ago that was very enjoyable. It's always nice when we go to military communities because the audience enthusiasm is generally phenomenal. I really loved the area. The waterfront was beautiful and there was an incredible German restaurant that a big group of us enjoyed after the concert. 

Here's a shot of the audience in Portsmouth. It was our first outdoors gig of the year and it was pretty warm. Gotta love getting those dressy blue uniforms nice and sweaty! 

This weekend the band's barbershop quartet was invited to sing the national anthem at an Orioles game in Baltimore. Some of us came along for support and had a great time at the game. Nothing like bringing some hooah to the jumbotron. 

Here I am with fellow bandsmen SSG Tracy LaBreque goofing around with the mascot. We are about to go out on Summer Tour in a few weeks and I'll be blogging more frequently from the road. 

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This week we had Junior Officer Week. This was a chance for a few junior officers to be recognized by the command for the great Soldiers they are. Each command was given the opportunity to receive nominations and select one dental officer to attend. The participants were:

MAJ Michael Thompson – Ft. Leonardwood, Missouri

CPT(P) James Anderson – Okinawa, Japan

CPT Georgios Vessiropoulos – Heidelberg, Germany

CPT Kristy Hayes – Ft. Monmouth, New Jersey

CPT Nasser Fiqia - C Co, 26th Combat Support Battalion

CPT Michael Bingham – Ft. Richardson, Alaska

CPT Eric Danko - C Co, 307th Combat Support Battalion, Ft. Bragg

CPT Eric Setter - 561st Medical Company (DS), Germany

CPT Aldrin Adamos – US Army Reserve, San Francisco, California

The week was a chance for them to meet with the senior leadership, and see a little more about how the Army runs. During the week they were able to meet with:

- Major General Czerw - Dental Corps Chief

- Major General Rubenstein – Deputy Surgeon General

- Colonel Ted Wong – DENCOM Commander

- Colonel Art Scott - Deputy Corps Chief and our senior staff officer here at The Surgeon Generals Office

- Colonel Bob Manga - Director of graduate dental education

- Colonel John Storz - Chief dental officer at Human Resource Command

- Captain Nate Parrish – Senior dental recruiting officer

Meeting with these officers they were able to hear presentations, as well as to ask any questions they wanted to.

Other activities during the week included:

- Tour of the White House

- Tour of the Pentagon

- Tour of the Capitol

- Afternoon cruise aboard a yacht

- Meeting with American Dental Association lobbyists

- Corps Chiefs Dinner in their honor

- World-wide Dental Corps junior officer video teleconference with MG Czerw

All in all it was a great week to meet some great dental officers! Thanks goes out to Ms. Roxanne Flores and Major John Fuda who coordinated this week.

Corps Chiefs Dinner hosted by Major General Czerw

Colonel Manga speaking with the officers. Colonel Wong deep in thought

Just prior to the world-wide junior officer video teleconferece

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Friday I had a chance to work with 2 recruiters in New York. Staff Sergeants DiBartola and Stuckey at New York University School of Dentistry. We had 2 events that day. The first was a presentation to current and future HPSP students; the second was a residency fair at the school for all the juniors. Both events went well, we spoke with many students – hopefully the recruiters will have some leads from that.

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