Steal Wool band members continue tradition, jam for Wolf Pack

  • Published
  • By Capt. Shannon Collins
  • 8th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
KUNSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Their mission -- strafing chords, lining up the melodies and dropping the munitions called music onto the friendlies, their fans.

In a place called Delta, here at Kunsan Air Base, Republic of Korea, the punks rule and the bass reverberates on the walls, followed by the stomping and shouts of the crowd. This is where two guitarists, one being the male lead singer, a bass and a drummer step from their cockpit and enjoy the music on Friday nights.

The female singer, a maintenance officer, joins the pilots in performing Top 40 hits, along with a few chosen Delta fan-based hits in a band named Steal Wool. Her reason for putting in the extra practice and performance hours? The band and the fans, of course.

"It's fun practicing with the band mates, and we all have so many great ideas to try to improve and make our performances more enjoyable to everyone," said 1st Lt. Christine "Sparkie" Knieff, 8th Maintenance Group executive officer.

The band members join with various degrees of previous training. Lieutenant Knieff brings more than 15 years of vocal training.

Lt. Col. Steve "Dallas" Horton, 35th Fighter Squadron director of operations and bassist, joined the band about a month ago and brings in four years of bass experience.

"As people rotate in and out, the band's music goes through changes based on the abilities and personalities of the current members," he said.

Capt. Brad "Emcon" Brizek, chief of plans and a pilot with the 35th FS, delivers more than seven years of experience with acoustic guitar. During his time here, he picked up electric as the lead guitarist.

"Most of what I play is open chord or finger-style guitar, so the electric was sort of a change for me," said Captain Brizek.

Captain Brizek took on these changes to be a part of the first fighter squadron dedicated band he's seen.

"Steal Wool is a big part of the Pantons," he said. "Every squadron has its own personality. The Juvats (80th Fighter Squadron members) are more 'traditional,' whereas we are more of the freewheeling, fun-loving squadron on base. All of the band members I've met don't play to 'be in a band.' We all want to make sure that everyone who shows up at Delta has a good time. That's why Steal Wool exists."

Though most fighter squadrons don't have a dedicated band, singing songs is an important part of fighter pilot culture, said guitarist and pilot Capt. Alex "Tuna" Turner, 35th FS.

"While we sing our traditional songs to and from the International Cultural Village during sweeps (send offs), it's nice to be able to share other songs our non-pilot friends can recognize and enjoy," he said.

For Captain Turner, being part of a band and carrying on the tradition was an added bonus to his assignment to Kunsan.

"It's pretty awesome to carry on the tradition, especially because being a part of a band is something I've wanted to do for quite some time," he said. "The best part is having people approach us every time Delta is opened and asks, 'Hey, is Steal Wool going to be playing?' and genuinely want the answer to be 'yes.' It's hard to say 'no' to that, even when we haven't practiced, because we always have a line of Pantons on Punk Row, pushing it up and singing along."

Captain Turner brings seven years of acoustic and electric guitar experience to the band.

Many of the pilots who rotate into the 35th FS and join the Pantons bring their years of experience with different instruments or learn an instrument to keep Steal Wool alive.

Capt. Kevin "Bama" Sweeney picked up the drums for the first time, simply because that was what the band needed. He took on the challenge, like many before him, to keep the band alive.

The band began in 1996, with the assistance of now Lt. Col. Robert "Buc" Richards, a Reservist with the 63rd Fighter Squadron at Luke Air Force Base, Ariz.; Maj. Darren "Forrest" Middleton, now retired, working with Air Education and Training Command at Randolph AFB, Texas; Lt. Col. Brian "Rug" Burns, assigned to Nellis AFB, Nev.; and Lt. Col. Kevin "Hobo" Sutton, also at Randolph AFB.

"The band was formed just because we could, and it gave us something to do on the weekends, besides drink," said Colonel Richards, a captain and Panton weapons officer during the creation of Steal Wool. "We happened to have four very talented guys, and I think that kick-started the tradition."

Their first gig was at Delta on Halloween in 1996.

"We only played 20 songs or so, and our sound system was terrible, but everyone thought we were great," Colonel Richards said.

The colonel said the band was formerly known as "Ground Hog Day" but received the Steal Wool name at an official Panton naming a month after the Halloween gig. The "wool" comes from the flock of Canadian, Australian and American English teachers who frequented the base then and currently. The "steal" comes from the fact that many of the female officers who belong to other squadrons frequent Delta to hear the band, hence Steal Wool.

For some, stealing meant keeping. The colonel said he met his wife at a gig at Delta. He also said the purpose of the band is more than just providing entertainment.

"It provided a great distraction for everyone and provided a sense of community," Colonel Richards said. "I'm amazed over its longevity and how important it's been to people."

With more than 100 alumni, Steal Wool continues to lead the way at Delta. Some former members even created a Steal Wool band at Luke AFB, though they always look at their time at Kunsan fondly, when they first joined the band.

"It was an awesome part of the Kunsan experience, not only for the guys in the band, but for Pantons, Juvats and lots of other Wolf Pack fans," said former Kunsan Steal Wool bassist Lt. Col. Steven Speckhard, 301st Fighter Squadron commander, Luke AFB, and now Luke AFB Steal Wool bassist.

Past and present Steal Wool members remember where it started, at Kunsan. Though the members have rotated in and out with each new "class" of Airmen, serving the Wolf Pack mission, the mission stays the same.

"I have a great time escaping from the world for a bit and playing with the band," said Colonel Horton. "Like everything else we do here at Kunsan, we give it our best shot, and people like hearing co-workers put their own spin on some of the popular songs. There are a lot of talented people in the Wolf Pack. We just happen to have found a way to put a few people's talents together to make a party out of it."

Bama drops the beat, Sparkie belts out a tune, and Tuna and Emcon lay down the chords, blended with Dallas' bass.

It's another Panton party at Delta on Kunsan, where all officers are welcome to push it up in a wave of stress release and camaraderie as the band plays on.