Heritage of America Band performs for Sumter Published Dec. 21, 2006 By Senior Airman Holly MacDonald 20th Fighter Wing Public Affairs SHAW AIR FORCE BASE, S.C -- The U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band performed a concert Dec. 12 at the Sumter County Exhibition Center for 2,100 people from the Shaw and Sumter community. The concert was given to the Sumter community by the Air Force for their support of Shaw Air Force Base throughout the year. "We really wanted to give something special to the Sumter community this holiday season. Having the ACC band perform music of the season seemed like a great way to spread joy and show our gratitude," said Col. Michael Byrne, 20th Fighter Wing vice commander. The band's area of responsibility covers a six-state geographical area including six Air Force bases in the eastern region of the country. The Air Force has two premier bands: the U.S. Air Force Band and the U.S. Air Force Academy Band. The Air Force also has 10 regional bands. Within the regional bands, there are smaller ensembles including: jazz, brass, Celtic and popular music. During the Sumter concert, the band performed 12 arrangements of "Holiday Memories" including three solos and a traditional sing-along for the finale. The band is requested six to 12 months in advance due to their busy schedule, said Maj. Douglas Monroe, U.S. Air Force Heritage of America Band commander. "Of course we try to meet all of the requests we get. We are an asset of the Air Combat Command to promote morale, good community relations and Air Force recruiting," Major Monroe said. The band is also an asset to the deployed mission. The band has been deploying for about two years, but the new change is they will take on full-length deployments, he said. Major Monroe said he thinks the full-length deployments will be an opportunity to have a greater effect on troop morale in deployed locations. Just like any other job in the Air Force, the whole band doesn't deploy at once. There will still be performances state-side, just not the full-scale performances. For more information about the band, visit their Web site at http://www.heritageofamericaband.acc.af.mil/index.html.