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Afghan and AFCENT Bands speak universal language

  • Published
  • By Capt. Rob Leese
  • 438th AEW PAO
KABUL, Afghanistan --  On Oct. 16, the Air Force Central Command and Afghan National Army bands played to a packed house of over 400 Afghan and NATO Air Training Command - Afghanistan members at the Afghan Air Force Base in Kabul, Afghanistan.

NATC-A advisors, who are building the Afghan Air Force by training pilots, maintainers and all the support personnel required to properly operating an air force, and AAF members had a chance to kick back, relax, and enjoy the professional musicians' 2 ½ hour gig.

The AFCENT band, deployed from Travis Air Force Base, Calif., consisted of 7 members playing guitars, drums and keyboard. The AFCENT band started the concert with some down home Southern Rock and Country-Western tunes.

The 5 member ANA band, stationed in Kabul, Afghanistan, played a more traditional Afghan music line-up while playing drums, tambours and harmonium. Their final song got members of the audience out of their seats and dancing to a song dedicated to pilots.

Lt. Col Mohammad Bahadur, AAF Public Affairs officer, was the one of the main organizer of the joint concert. He wanted to provide an atmosphere where NATC-A advisors and AAF Airmen could come together outside of the typical work day to connect with each other on a more personal level. Music, the universal language, was the easiest way for the people to get a better understanding of each other.

Bahadur explained, "This is the first official concert that we have had in the AAF and I am proud to have been involved in setting it up."

At the end of the concert, AFCENT Band Commander, Maj. Matthew Henry presented some donated musical equipment consisting of an electronic keyboard, microphones and speakers to the ANA Band.

Henry stated, "I hope that we will be able to provide more donated equipment to the ANA in the future and continue improving the relationship between our bands."

While the music was distinctly different from each other, all the people that came to the concert left with an appreciation of each other's unique culture.