Zero Days a Week

The biggest metropolitan region near me, the Illinois/Iowa Quad Cities Area, has been selected a few times to host Navy Week. It's a big deal, highlighted by an air show by the Blue Angels and numerous live and broadcast performances by Navy Band Great Lakes.

I, and thousands of others, look forward to the excitement, the demonstrations, the visiting crews, the displays of weaponry, the vroom of the jets and the the beat of the music.

But not this year. Navy Week has been cancelled, not just here, but in cities across the country. The annual event that brings the Navy to landlocked cities is a victim of sequestration.

This is not the place to blame any certain party or faction for these across-the-board cutbacks. But it is appropriate, I think, to point out the futility of this forced cost-saving

Navy Weeks, like Navy bands, are investments. The expense of the events builds goodwill and support among the people who ultimately fund our national defense: the taxpayers.

Military musicians are taught from day one that public performances are more than just music. They are tools for building support. A military band is a visible bridges between the citizens and their armed services.

For years, Navy Weeks have proven the value of this kind of investment.

But when you take away the tools, you can't expect anyone to build bridges.