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According to Pentagon data from fiscal 2015, the last time the Defense Department did a full inventory, the military spends at least $437 million a year on musicians, their instruments, special uniforms, travel and related costs.
That marks a steady rise from previous years, even as the Pentagon insists the services have cut a sizable number of musical troupes. By some official estimates, it's now spending $100 million more a year than in 2011.
The Army, by far, has the largest musical contingent, with a total of 99 bands and approximately 4,350 total musical personnel across its active-duty, National Guard and Reserve forces. The Air Force is second, with 15 bands and 800 personnel, followed by the Marine Corps with 12 bands and 750 personnel and the Navy's 11 bands and 600 musicians.
At the Pentagon, spokesman Mark Wright asserted that all four military branches have cut the number of bands in recent years, but acknowledges the cuts have done little to rein in the overall cost — largely because the schedule of events at which military musicians perform has not diminished much.
Read more: The Pentagon's battle of the bands - POLITICO
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Look, no one loves old school military culture more than me, it has been sad seeing it wither away, but the fact is that todays kids are not buying into it much. Also we are a failing superpower that needs to put what money we can find to good use, some of this old time super power whoopty doo needs to go away ASAP. Also these cats dont tend to be all that good, so dont give me a song and dance about how lucky I am to sometimes be able to see them.
Let's put Trump on this.
Seriously.
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