WEBVTT

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My name is Senior Master Sergeant Daniel
Valadie, and I'm the drum major for the

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United States Air Force Band. My unit's
role in the ceremonial brass is to play

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all of the major ceremonies in the
national capital region that the Air

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Force Band is tasked with, and that
includes military funerals at Arlington

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National Cemetery. We've gotten countless
families through one of the hardest

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experience of their life of losing a
loved one. We've been able to honor some

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of these foreign dignitaries as they
come in. I came into the band in 1998 as

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a percussionist, and then 21 years later,
it's still great. We actually were able

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to march the colors onto the field for the 
Super Bowl 44, which was the Saints

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versus the Colts years ago; and I'm a
Saints fan, so that was a really big deal

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for me.
We've played for the arrival of Pope

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Benedict, which was pretty important. I
played in five inaugural parades and led

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the band in an inaugural parade. I led the
band for, uh, the state funeral of President

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Bush recently. But I actually never
thought I would be able to be in a

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playing organization, and it just so
happened that there was a series of

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serendipitous events that kind of led me
here. It allows you to put down roots

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while still being around a bunch of
great musicians and great players,

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and being able to, you know, do what you
love.