Joint STARS Airman plays bagpipes on off-time

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Beverly Isik
  • 116th Air Control Wing Public Affairs
ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) --  The E-8C Joint STARS crew had been flying for hours -- their first combat mission in Operation Iraqi Freedom. The sky was dark and unknowing. As they crossed into Iraqi air space, the aircraft suddenly filled with a sound the crew will probably never forget.

“I was piping the troops into battle -- playing ‘Scotland the Brave,’” said Lt. Col. Skip Blumenthal. “I was thinking ‘This is a real combat mission, we’re going into real enemy territory.’ But it was fun.”

The colonel, a senior director on the E-8C, has been playing the bagpipes more than 15 years.

“Some people would argue that I haven’t played them yet,” he said jokingly. “I just enjoy doing it.”

It’s not a hobby he took up because of family tradition. In fact, his wife, Missy, signed him up for lessons after he expressed a slight interest at a county fair in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

“I’m vaguely Scottish,” he said. “My mother’s maiden name is Ramsey -- a Scottish lowland name.” It’s a fact he knows only because he traced the history of the name, not his family history, to an area south of Edinboro, Scotland.

The colonel has suffered through more than his share of jokes about wearing a skirt. When his children were growing up, he gave many talks and performances in front of elementary school classes, clad in the traditional Scottish kilt.

“When my youngest son was in the fourth grade, he asked if I would come talk to his class. When I ask if he wanted me to wear the kilt, he said ‘No. It’s hard enough without having my dad show up at school wearing a skirt.’

“The kids usually just love it and they all want to know why I’m wearing a skirt. It’s a kilt. It’s called a kilt because that’s what happens to people when they call it a skirt,” he said. “An old highland joke.”

Colonel Blumenthal is still playing the only bagpipes he’s ever owned -- a used set he picked up for $400 when he first started lessons. When he pinned on lieutenant colonel in December, he treated himself to a new set that are expected to arrive soon.

“I saw a set of 1916 Henderson’s that had been carried in World War I for $36,000,” he said. “They were offered for sale (on the Internet)for about three days before somebody grabbed them. But, you can get a good basic set today that will probably last you for your lifetime for about $1,000.”

The prior enlisted AC-130 Gunship gunner had a line number for master sergeant when he went to Officer Training School.

“I’ve been in the Air Force for 25 years,” he said. “If I ever figure out what I want to do when I grow up, I’ll get out and do it.”

The colonel plays with The Heart of Georgia Pipes and Drums band. They will compete in Atlanta Feb. 26, at the Highland Games Southern Branch of the Eastern United States Pipe and Band Association workshop.

As an augmentee for the Air Force Reserve Pipe Band here, he plays at various military functions, including the 116th Air Control Wing change of command in October.

“We wear the Air Force Reserve tartan,” he said. “That was an actual military uniform I wore when I played at the change of command.”

Wearing the tartan was a priority for the colonel.

“He always wanted to wear the official Air Force uniform when he played at military functions -- so he’d borrow one from us every time,” said Master Sgt. Scott Dunn, Reserve band first sergeant. “After a while, we asked him to be an augmentee.”

If things go as planned, the colonel will be going to Washington with the band to play at the Capitol on St. Patrick’s Day.

Playing the pipes is soothing for Colonel Blumenthal, but can be exhausting at times. He normally practices about half an hour four or five days a week -- usually in his backyard.

“If I’m just standing at the edge of a lake playing a bunch of tunes I know, I can play for an hour,” he said. “It both relaxes and exhausts me -- probably similar to long distance runners. They can run all day and are exhausted and feel really good when they’re finished.”

The colonel has taken his pipes on every one of his deployments. And although he doesn’t mind if people listen, he usually tries to find a place to play “out of ear shot.”

If he gets an audience while he’s practicing a new song, he’s quick to give fair warning. The onlookers might hear the same tune 10 times and a couple of expletives.

The type of pipe music affects his mood. The lighter music like marches and dance music -- “have a tendency to get your blood boiling.”

The classical style is for “when you’re listening and sipping your scotch, smoking a big cigar and remembering the good old days."