Leamond "Noonie" Wilson

NMA President Terry Chesson called me a few hours ago with sad news: Noonie Wilson died this morning.

As the School of Music's Senior Instructor, Noonie oversaw the training of hundreds, maybe thousands, of Navy, Marine Corps and Army musicians. He described his job as that of the school's "Principal." Students who were summoned for counseling in his office--a Navy-issue desk, locker and grease-board roster of instructors hidden behind a row of grey file cabinets--would agree with that assessment.

Whether handing out a Mandatory Practice slip to a lazy drummer or an "attaboy" to a trumpeter who had finally squared himself away, Noonie treated each student with respect; good news or bad, you walked out of the Training Office knowing you'd been treated fairly.

I know this because, as an instrumental instructor, I frequently took students to see the Senior Instructor. And years later, while struggling through the Advanced Course, I was the student who got the call to report to Master Chief Wilson.  

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Funeral arrangements are being handled by Altmeyer Funeral Homes. Deb Holl tells me the viewing is 6-8 PM, Thursday, 8OCT, and funeral services the following morning, 11 AM, Friday, 9OCT.

The funeral home's website will soon provide the opportunity to leave online condolences.

The race may be to the swift . . .

As you can see from this short clip, Four Star Edition, a contingent of the U.S. Fleet Forces Band, is an energetic group. These young professionals know how to rock and roll.

But--and I ask this with all humility--do they have what it takes to go the distance? Are they sprinters who exhaust their energy after the first lap, or are they marathon runners who pick up their second wind late in the race?

Just wondering.

A new breed of CPOs

Around the fleet this week, thousands of former first class petty officers have put away their crackerjacks and are wearing new sets of khakis.

Since I was in the Navy, the chief petty officer's initiation has been modified, the weeks of harassment replaced by a period of instruction. Chief-selectees study leadership, do bookwork and deliver reports.

It's a drastic change from what I went through. Frankly, though, I would have been better off if my CPO training had involved more study of leadership and less memorizing of dirty poems.

Six months after I put on my anchors, I couldn't convince a seaman to clean a urinal without getting into a shouting match, but I could recite all 16 verses of "Sandpaper Sal, the Signalman's Pal."

Concerning Discretion

Occasionally, I delete readers' comments to posts at Navy Lyres.

It's a matter of discretion. Salty language is one thing; trotting out vulgar nicknames of old bandleaders is another. Telling sea stories is a cherished tradition; publicizing long-ago events that should remain private is a tasteless offense.

While Navy Lyres is independent from the Navy Musicians Association, I consider this site a goodwill gesture toward and recruiting tool for that organization I love. At this year's reunion I met three new members who told me they found out about the NMA through Navy Lyres. What do you suppose the chances of their joining would have been if they'd visited this site and read nasty comments about themselves or their shipmates?

If you seek a community of like-minded character assassins with whom to share your resentments and disdain for authority you'll have to find another forum. Barrooms, transient barracks and Tea Parties come to mind.

Simply put, freedom of speech does not exist at Navy Lyres. That first amendment freedom, in whose defense we have served, prohibits congress from passing laws that limit expression. Nowhere does it say that Frank Mullen cannot prevent readers of Navy Lyres from listing the character defects of their old chiefs.

Someone has to decide what is or isn't appropriate at Navy Lyres, and I'm the Decider.

Come home, Phil

Dear Mr. Stacey,

I've just watched the video of your performance at the Mall of America. Is this the career trajectory you were envisioning when you won a few rounds on American Idol and decided to leave Navy music?

I'm just guessing, but this video makes a solo mall gig look like less fun than a mall gig with a Navy band. This is hard to imagine; Navy mall gigs are so close to the bottom of the Fun Ladder that it's hard to contemplate the existence of an even lower rung.

Phil, if you want to play in malls, have you forgotten that we MUs invented playing in malls?

We've never loved doing it, but it's part of the job, and we do it as a team. I guess it's about teamwork. Misery shared is misery lessened. Hell is a lot more endurable when you have shipmates roasting alongside you on the eternal rotisserie.

Come home to the Navy, Phil. You'll never again have to stand alone on an empty stage singing to karaoke accompaniment while the red-faced assistant manager of the Gap is shaking his fist because you're blocking access to his store.

Not that those indignities will disappear if you come back to the Navy. They won't. On your first mall gig, the head clerk of Sharper Image will start pounding on the edge of the stage, screamingthat the music is too loud and he's losing customers to Best Buy.

But you won't suffer alone. You'll do it with your shipmates. Come home, Phil. When it comes to mall gigs, Navy bands are the pros.

In fact, to a lot of people we're the real American Idols.

Sincerely,

The MUs

Jumping off the Tower of Power

For years, Tower of Power trumpeter Mike Bogart has had only good things to say about Navy music; after all, he was an MU for a decade.

During the 11 years since Mike has been out of the Navy, his career has been a trumpeter's dream; he played with the Maynard Ferguson band before taking his current position with Tower of Power.

Mike's career will take another turn next week in San Diego. He'll walk on stage for his last performance as Mike Bogart, Tower of Power trumpeter, and walk off as MU1 Mike Bogart, USN.

During the show, Lt. Mark Corbliss, Officer in Charge of Navy Band Southwest, will administer the oath of enlistment. Petty Officer Bogart will soon report to Annapolis for duty with The Electric Brigade. 

Clearly, for a musician of Mike Bogart's caliber, there's nowhere to go but up.

Full story with photos at San Diego's official Navy newspaper, Navy Compass.