399th Army Band sergeant named Fort Leonard Wood soldier of the year

Pulaski County Daily News ^ | 7/21/2009 | Darrell Todd Maurina

[darrellmaurina]

FORT LEONARD WOOD, Mo. (July 21, 2009) — It’s not unusual for the person selected as soldier of the year at Fort Leonard Wood to have a hard-charging attitude and high aspirations for his future, and Sgt. Wesley D. Henderson, 24, is no exception. His military career goals include maxing the Army Physical Fitness Test, attending airborne and air assault school, and retiring as a command sergeant major; his off-duty activities include hunting, weightlifting and watching football. So what’s his MOS? He’s an Army musician in the 399th Army Band, with a bachelors’ degree in music performance as a distinguished honor graduate from the University of Alabama in Huntsville, training at the Armed Forces School of Music, and work already underway on a masters’ degree in business administration.

[rahbert]

the Army has 399 bands!?!

[vetvetdoug]

Quite an honor. The Sgt had to go through an eyeglass to earn and win this honor.

[darrellmaurina]

I am not an expert on Army musical unit history by any stretch of the imagination.

However, the Army was at one point far larger than it is today — including Army Reserve and National Guard and former Army Air Force units that transferred to the Air Force after World War II. Lots of Army units have high numbers that reflect the situation back when the unit was organized during World War II, World War I, or sometimes even earlier. Just because there is a 399th Army Band today doesn’t mean there are still 398 other bands in existence.

Here is a unit page for the 399th Army Band, which includes a history dating back to World War II:

http://www.wood.army.mil/band

And here is an unofficial listing of military bands that seems to indicate the United States Army has fewer than 399 bands today:

http://www.militarybands.net

For any further details, I need to defer to Army personnel who can give a better answer.