77th Army Band

“The Pride of Fort Sill”

Mission Statement

Provide music to enhance the morale, esprit de corps and unit cohesion of military personnel, instill a sense of pride and tradition to military ceremonies and parades, promote heightened patriotism and further awareness of the Army, and assist recruiting efforts for the Army and the Army band program.

Civilian requests for band

If you’re looking for a professional band for your civic organization’s event, then we encourage you to request our band. If you don’t know about the variety of musical groups that make up our band, visit our “Many faces of the band” Webpage to see if one of them fits your need.
For civilian parades, ceremonies and events, submit a Fort Sill Form 1418 via email to SILLCOMREL@conus.army.mil or by fax to 580-442-7003.  For more information about this form, call the Fort Sill Public Affairs Office community relations specialist at 580-458-8955 or 580-355-0954.

Military requests for band

For military events, submit a Fort Sill Form 104 at least 45 days prior to the date of the event. If this deadline can’t be met, the requesting office must include a memorandum explaining why an exception to policy is required.
Forms should be submitted to the Directorate of Plans, Training, and Mobilization at flagroom@conus.army.mil or faxed to 580-442-5504. For more information, call the office at 580-442-3697/1847.

Many faces of the band

The Ceremonial Band includes the complete 77th Army Band and is known as the “Pride of Fort Sill.” The band, by Army orders, performs in support of Lawton/Fort Sill and surrounding areas. The band performs at many events, such as graduation ceremonies, changes of command, deployment and re-deployment ceremonies, parades and more.
The Concert Band provides music for formal settings as well as music for social gatherings and educational performances. Whether the need is a concert, ceremony, inspiration at Easter or music for a dedication, the Concert Band adds just the right spark to make your event complete. We cover a diverse repertoire from early Renaissance to pop and big band styles.
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The Jazz Combo is one of our most requested ensembles, and is our most musically adventurous ensemble, performing a wide variety of styles and hit music from several generations. They perform at formal settings, social gatherings and even give educational performances.The combo includes drums, bass guitar, electric guitar, keyboards, and one or more trumpet, trombone, sax and a vocalist.
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The Brass Quintet includes two trumpets, horn, trombone and tuba. Most brass quintets cover just classic music, but our group covers a diverse repertoire from early Renaissance to pop and big band styles. Despite it’s edgy and Bohemian style, the quintet tailors its selection to the needs of the audience. We can rein it in.

History of the band

The 77th Army Band was constituted March 1, 1907 as the 13th Band, Coast Artillery and activated at Fort Du Pont, Delaware. Since its organization, the Army has moved this unit 18 times, and it has been inactivated 3 times.
The unit moved to Fort Rosecrans, Calif., in 1914 and in 1916, was transferred to Fort Kamehameha, Hawaii. The band served in Hawaii until the end of World War II, but the Army did not it stay in one place all that time.
Five years later, the unit moved to Fort Shafter, but returned  to Fort Kamehameha on January 31. From 1922 to 1924, the unit moved first to Fort Ruger, then to Like Field and back to Fort Ruger before it moved to Fort Armstrong (where it remained until June 30, 1924). On that date, the band was reorganized and redesignated as the Band Section, Headquarters Battery, 16th Coast Artillery and assigned to the Hawaiian Department.
The band was later moved to Fort De Russy. On 15 July 1927, the band was separated from the Headquarters Battery and redesignated as the Band, 16th Coast Artillery. The band returned to Fort Ruger on 21 July 1926, where it remained until 1944.
On May 23, 1944, the band was reorganized, named the 77th Ground Forces Band and assigned to the U.S. Army Forces, Central Pacific Area at Fort Hase. The next move occurred in December of that year, when the unit moved to Guam.
On May 30, 1946, the unit transferred from Guam to Saipan. While on the island of Saipan, the unit received deactivation orders effective November 29.
The 77th Ground Forces Band was redesignated the 77th Army Band on April 15, 1947 and reactivated as a Philippine Scout Unit at Tarlac, Philippine Islands on  May 1, 1947, but was deactivated on June 1, 1949 while at Camp O'Donnel, Philippine Islands.
The 77th Army Band was reactivated at Fort Huachuca, Az., in 1951 and assigned to the 6th Army, where it remained until deactivated in1953. While at Fort Huachuca, the unit participated in exercise Desert Rock and was on temporary duty at Desert Rock, Nev., January  9 to March 27, 1953.
The unit was reactivated in 1955 at Fort Sill, where it has remained.