Veteran provides guitar lessons at base arts and crafts center Published March 4, 2015 By Airman 1st Class Erica Crossen 375th Air Mobility Wing SCOTT AIR FORCE BASE, Ill. -- Finding an outlet of expression may be one answer to combating stressful events, and one veteran shares his outlet with the Scott community. Roger Drinnon, the former Air Mobility Command Public Affairs Deputy Chief of Current Operations, has been strumming strings for 35 years, and now he teaches guitar to the military community. He has been instructing at the Scott AFB Arts and Crafts Center for eight years. "Art is important, because it allows you to express yourself creatively, it allows you to manage your stress and have an escape from the daily rigors of your job." Drinnon understands the demands of military life and the need to be resilient. "Having served a military career of 21 years, playing music is something that will get you through some tough times in the military. During deployments and otherwise, it's great for relieving stress. Since the guitar is pretty portable, oftentimes you could take it on a deployment." His first job was an aerospace ground equipment technician, and in the 1990s, he cross-trained as a technical sergeant into public affairs mid-career. "As the aerospace ground equipment career field was drawing down, I saw cross-training into public affairs as a way to get a breadth of experience and learn another facet of the Air Force. It was a change, it was a different environment and you learn different skill sets. I look fondly on my AGE days; there are a lot of lessons in leadership when you supervise a lot of people. And in an office environment, you don't necessarily supervise as many, but focus is on honing communication and writing skills." "When I went into the office environment, I missed being around the airplanes and working with the equipment, but I'm kind of a go with the flow person and wherever I land, I just take it and run with it." The transitions in his life are reflective of the variety of music he teaches, and also has taught him to keep an open mind. He said he wouldn't appreciate music as much as he has if he had never heard certain composers. "For me, Bach is it in terms of what people new to the classical genre should explore." Drinnon said he loves many different kinds of music, but he worries that where the trends go, may leave some genres under-appreciated. He never wants to be a music snob, but knows there's so much out there that people could be missing out on if they don't pursue musical outlets. "I worry when I see certain kinds of music disappearing from the scene, and instead people gravitate towards simpler music that has very little depth to it." How does someone go from learning the strings to playing their favorite tunes? Drinnon said time management is vital to going from playing a few notes well to working through your favorite Led Zeppelin song. "Not having enough time gets in the way of a lot of people's ability to practice when I ask them to practice an hour a day to improve their skills. My Bachelor's Degree is in adult learning, and my theory for refining a hands-on skill like this is just repetition. If you do something enough, you get really good at it. It's not a matter of natural gifts or anything, it could be martial arts, or it could be guitar. And if you really want to improve, you'll find a way, and the hours will happen." Jacquelyn Kruzic has been learning from Drinnon, alongside her husband, Senior Airman Alexander Curto, 375th Communication Support Squadron, and said they have been taking classes jointly for a few months now. "We have an hour where we just learn together, working through guitar solos and riffs. We each picked songs by Metallica; I'm learning 'Enter Sandman' and Alexander is learning 'Wherever I May Roam'," said Kruzic. "I feel like playing guitar is one of my callings, and it is pretty fun to learn." Drinnon said, "Playing the guitar is entertainment, and music is so powerful to so many people. It's hard to get bored with it because, for the guitar, there is a world of styles with how much music is out there." To reach the Arts and Crafts Center, please call 256-4230.