United States Armed Forces School of Music

The school's mission is to provide specialized musical training to musicians of the Navy and Marine Corps military bands.

On 12 August 1964 the doors to the Naval School of Music in Washington, D.C., were closed, and students enlisted in the Navy band would spend 150 days at the academy, fine-tuning their skills to motivate the nation.

Each ship had a band aboard to play honors as it passed George Washington's tomb in Mount Vernon, Virginia.

This was the first time an Army band performed honors on a Navy ship for president George Washington.

A second, lesser known school was established at the western infantry recruiting post at Newport Barracks in Kentucky.

The training program and all curricular material was prepared by the Music Section, Special Services Division.

Bandsmen for the Army received on-the-job training for the next several years and there were no advanced-level course for bandmasters or senior enlisted leaders.

The Army began consolidating musical training with the Navy in 1951, but maintained separate, Army-only bandsmen courses at several other locations until January 1956.

Though all three services share facilities, faculty and administration, the curriculum changed to meet the need of a fast-paced Army.

To fall in order with Army Force Generation (ARFORGEN), a modular strategy to sustaining global commitments, bands organize by small units called Music Performance Teams (MPTs).

The Army bands must fit in convoys of trucks or in helicopters to move through areas of operation to put on shows.

In this manner, an Army Band is not just the music of John Philip Sousa, but is also today's top 40 in many genres.