COMMENTARY>>‘Reveille’ sounds sour note

Q) In the past, “Reveille” was not played in base housing, but it seems since the new Giant Voice speakers have been installed it now plays at 7 a.m. I understand it’s a military base and that “Reveille,” retreat and “Taps” are played every weekday, but is it necessary for it to be played in the housing area? My daughter is only 10 months old and is getting abruptly woken up every morning. I have spoken to many other individuals who live in base housing and they are also unhappy with the recent decision to play “Reveille” in the mornings. I am pleading with you to please reconsider this decision for all of the families, flyers on crew rest and night shift workers on base. Thank you very much.

A) First and foremost, the Giant Voice system is an emergency communications tool. We recently replaced the Giant Voice speakers because the old ones were not loud enough for residents in some parts of base housing to hear during an emergency.

We play “Reville” at 7 a.m., the National Anthem for retreat at 4:30 p.m. and “Taps” at 8 p.m. Playing these time-honored traditional military songs helps remind us of our unique culture and offers a minute or two of reflection on the sacrifices many of our teammates and comrades in arms have made for the flag and our country.

I encourage each of our military members to share with their families the importance of these traditions, regardless if they live on or off base.

Again, The Giant Voice system serves a primary purpose of alerting the base populace in emergency situations.

If I were to have the towers removed or the volume lowered in the housing areas, it would also impact any emergency alert warnings. We would be sacrificing the safety of hundreds of base personnel during life-threatening events.

We care too much for your safety, the safety of all the families on Little Rock AFB, and the pride of our nation and our Air Force traditions to modify the sound system at this time.