AMC Band Adds Muscle Shoals Sound to Legacy

By Lisa Simunaci, Army Materiel Command

MUSCLE SHOALS, Ala., Jan. 9, 2018 — Armed with their instruments, soldiers with Army Materiel Command’s unit band entered what many in the music industry consider hallowed ground.

Script lettering over a wood-paneled doorway reads: “Through these doors walk the finest musicians, songwriters, artists and producers in the world.”

The decor is dated and sparse, but plaques commemorating hit records and framed photos of renowned recording artists welcome visitors to Fame Studios. Within these walls, the legendary Muscle Shoals sound reverberates.

‘The History Here is Just Incredible’

“The history here is just incredible,” AMC Band Commander Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 James Bettencourt said. “All of us as musicians had a hero or somebody we grew up listening to, and it’s almost guaranteed they recorded somewhere here in this town. Every musician has their own story -- and I think before each of our soldiers settles in to do their craft, they stop for a second to take it all in and appreciate where we are and what we’re actually doing.”

Bettencourt is the third warrant officer to lead the band since it came to its Redstone Arsenal home, and he will also be its last. The band is among several across the service slated for inactivation next fiscal year.

Dwarfed by the photos of his own musical heroes, Bettencourt stepped inside Fame’s Studio A, where his soldiers were ready to stake their own place in musical history. The AMC Band was capturing its sound and marking its legacy with several recordings in Muscle Shoals. The musical collection, which will be available to the public, will be the lasting testament to the band’s time in the Tennessee Valley.

The band came to Redstone Arsenal in 2011, moving with the Army Materiel Command headquarters as a result of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure. While the headquarters moved from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, the band transferred from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

Community Performances

Since the band arrived in Huntsville, it has integrated with the community and has made a tradition of connecting with local talent. Playing upward of 300 performances a year, it is common to see members of the community, university musicians and other local groups performing alongside the uniformed band members at public performances.

Building on the band’s tradition of community involvement, Bettencourt reached out to both fellow musicians and the legendary Muscle Shoals music community to pitch in on a project that will live on, long after the band is gone.

Over the period of several months, the band collaborated with top talent, including the Army Field Band’s acoustic group, the Six String Soldiers; Oakwood University’s famed Aeolian choir; and country and bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs. The final result will be recordings engineered at Muscle Shoal Sound, Wishbone and Fame Recording Studios.

On a September day, when the Six String Soldiers were in town to lay down tracks for a cover version of "Country Roads," engineers at Fame Recording Studios quietly acknowledged the abnormality of the situation.

“This is the day the Army invaded Fame Studios,” said singer, songwriter and producer Michael Curtis.

Skilled soldiers riffed on guitars, plucked a bass and strummed banjos and mandolins as they took in the surreal setting.

Overlooking the studio from behind the soundproof glass of the elevated control room, sat Jimmy Johnson -- an original member of The Swampers. A black baseball cap that says “Muscle Shoals” covered his gray hair, and reading glasses settled loosely in his T-shirt pocket.

Army Veteran

To his knowledge, Johnson said this is the first time an Army band has recorded in Fame. And for him, the time communing with the soldiers brings back his own military memories.

“I was in the Army in the ‘60s,” Johnson said. He went to basic training and spent six months in the National Guard. “That was enough for me. I was a 120-day wonder.”

Johnson spent much of that decade playing guitar with the likes of Aretha Franklin and Wilson Pickett and engineering tracks for groups like the Rolling Stones. After more than a half-century of success in the music business, Johnson credits his short stint in the Army for teaching him discipline.

“I still fold my socks the same way,” he said.

The respect and admiration the soldiers expressed during their time in Muscle Shoals, Johnson said, is mutual. Assisting the AMC Band form its lasting legacy is a point of pride for the producer.

“They say they’re honored to be here,” Johnson said. “That definitely goes both ways.”

Mattis, Japanese Counterpart Discuss Alliance

WASHINGTON, Jan. 9, 2018 — Defense Secretary James N. Mattis spoke with Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera yesterday to discuss a range of issues related to the U.S.-Japan alliance, the Pentagon’s chief spokesperson, Dana W. White, said in a statement following the call.

Mattis and Onodera “condemned North Korea's reckless and unlawful behavior,” White said. “They discussed the importance of maximizing pressure on North Korea so it changes its path, refrains from provocative and threatening actions and makes a strategic decision to abandon its nuclear and missile programs.”

The defense secretary described the North Korean threat as a global problem, she said, and the two officials underscored the importance of garnering international support and cooperating with multinational partners on the pressure campaign.

Mattis reaffirmed the U.S. commitments to Japan’s defense and pledged to work closely with Onodera to bolster critical alliance capabilities, White said.

Airmen Keep A-10s Flying Despite Frigid Weather

By Air Force Airman Eugene Oliver, Moody Air Force Base

MOODY AIR FORCE BASE, Ga., Jan. 9, 2018 — After a snowstorm halted all flying and maintenance operations, the 75th Aircraft Maintenance Unit here took extra measures to ensure their A-10C Thunderbolt II aircraft could operate in frigid temperatures.

The maintainers were able to get the A-10s flying and mission-ready within 24 hours by performing extra inspections and increasing their workload to get back on schedule.

“Ice can significantly reduce lift, increase drag and add significant weight to the aircraft, which can be dangerous.” said Air Force Senior Airman Carlos Ramon-Cruz, 75th Aircraft Maintenance Unit crew chief. “We perform extra inspections and allow the aircraft to warm up longer to ensure everything goes smoothly.

Ice, Snow

“We keep an extra eye out for any ice or snow on the aircraft during conditions like this,” Ramon-Cruz added.

While aircraft are affected by the cold weather, the airmen working on them are also vulnerable to the frigid temperatures.

“The cold more affects the maintainers then it does the aircraft,” said Air Force Senior Master Sgt. Jeffrey Zimmerman, 75th AMU superintendent. “The maintainers have to wear more clothes and they mainly work with their hands, so when they get cold and frigid it slows down the entire maintenance process.”

While the maintainers have to adapt to the cold, the 75th AMU will have to work extra to make up for lost production due to the snowstorm.

“Jan. 4 was supposed to be our first flying day of the year,” Zimmerman said. “Consequently, we got behind, and all together we lost 18 sorties from the snow day that we will have to make up.”

Increasing Production

To make up for the flying hours that were lost, the 75th AMU will increase its production over the next few weeks to get back on its normal flying schedule.

“We already perform 24-hour operations on the flight line, so we’re increasing our sorties at the end of each week to help us regain the time that was lost,” Ramon-Cruz said. “We’re going to be ramping up the workload to get back on the track that we were on before the snowstorm.”

Because Moody doesn’t experience below-freezing temperatures on a frequent basis, the maintainers are not fully equipped to handle the frigid conditions.

“We keep our aircraft covered to help keep the snow off, but we don’t have any de-icing machines to heat up the planes,” Zimmerman said. “If we have ice on the planes, we have to just wait it out until we can get them flyable.”

While continuing to adapt to the cold weather and staying on schedule, the 75th AMU emphasized how nothing, including the weather, will stop them from completing their mission.

“There’s no heat, or air conditioning out there on the flight line,” said Zimmerman. “If the base is open, we’re going to be working around the clock to keep our aircraft flying.”