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AFCENT Band helps celebrate 70 years of U.S., Pakistan partnership

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeff Parkinson
  • Air Forces Central Command Public Affairs
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan --  The U.S. Air Forces Central Command Band helped celebrate 70 years of partnership between the Islamic Republic of Pakistan and United States at the American Embassy’s National Day.

The AFCENT Band provided music and entertainment for the embassy-sponsored observances, including musical outreach performances at local schools, and an appearance on Pakistani television and radio.

The more than 1,000 guests of the National Day celebration included Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal, U.S. Ambassador David Hale, government and military officials of Pakistan, and was a huge success in developing and maintaining relationships between the U.S. and Pakistan.

The performances marked the first ever appearance of the AFCENT Band in Pakistan, giving the band a chance to represent the U.S. and connect with the people of Pakistan through the power of music..

“The people of Pakistan have a tremendous amount of pride in their city; they wanted to know how much we enjoyed their country,” said Tech. Sgt. Lori Reeves, lead singer of the AFCENT Band. “Several people asked us if we had a changed perspective of Pakistan from before we arrived.”

According to the U.S. Embassy, the band’s trip to Pakistan made a huge impact on the Pakistani- U.S. relationship efforts of the embassy, accomplishing a month’s work of effort in a matter of days.

“We were told we gave the Pakistani people a much different view of Americans,” Reeves said