CW5 Aaron P. Graff
7th Commander
U.S. Army Old Guard Fife and Drum Corps

CW5 Graff hails from Ada, Oklahoma. He has a Bachelor of Science degree in Liberal Arts (Music). Mr. Graff has studied horn with Joseph Myer, Kurt Snyder and James Atkinson. He has also studied composition with award winning composer John Luther Adams.

Mr. Graff began his military career in 1983. His first assignment was as a trumpet player with the 5th US Army Band at FT Sam Houston, Texas. In 1987, after reclassifying to horn, Mr. Graff was assigned to the 6th ID(L) Band at Ft Richardson and subsequently Ft Wainwright, Alaska. Mr. Graff then transferred to the 434th Army Band at Ft Gordon, Georgia in 1992. Mr. Graff returned to 6th ID(L) for a short tour in 1993. In 1993 Mr. Graff was accessed into the Warrant Officer Program as an Army Bandmaster. Upon graduation from WOBC, Mr. Graff remained on staff at the US Army Element School of Music as the Property Book Officer (PBO) and rehearsal conductor. In 1994 Mr. Graff returned to Ft Wainwright to command the 9th Army Band. He followed that assignment as a Training, Advising and Counseling (TAC) Officer at Warrant Officer Candidate School (WOCS) located at Ft Rucker, Alabama. In 2001 Mr. Graff assumed command of the 82nd ABN DIV Band at Ft Bragg, North Carolina. It was with the 82nd ABN DIV Band that Mr. Graff first deployed to Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Mr. Graff assumed command of the Eighth US Army Band in Seoul, South Korea in 2004 and, following the one year assignment, transferred to Ft Huachuca. Mr. Graff served as commander of the 36th Army Band from the spring of 2005 to spring of 2008. Mr. Graff assumed command of the 1st Cavalry Division Band in May of 2008 and again deployed in support of OIF. In May of 2010, Mr. Graff assumed responsibilities as the Chief, Department of Joint, Interagency and Multinational Operations (DJIMO) at the Warrant Officer Career College (WOCC). He subsequently assumed responsibilities as the Chief, Academic Instruction Division (AID). CW5 Graff assumed command of the 98th Army Band in March of 2013.  In March of 2014, he was selected to serve on the Headquarters, Department of the Army (HQDA), Deputy Chief of Staff (DCS) G-3/5/7 as the Officer Education System (OES) Branch Chief with the Leader Development Division (TRL).  Chief Graff followed that with a deployment in support of Operation Inherent Resolve on Camp Arifjan, Kuwait in 2017 where he served as the Theater Music Liaison Officer and the USARCENT G1 (FWD).  CW5 Graff has been the Chief, Academic Instruction Division, United States Army Warrant Officer Career College (USAWOCC) since November, 2017.

CW5 Graff is the only Army Bandmaster to graduate the Command and General Staff College (ILE Common Core).  He is also a graduate of the Advance Force Management School (AFMS), the Warrant Officer Staff Course (WOSC) and the Warrant Officer Senior Staff Course (WOSSC).

Mr. Graff’s military awards and decorations include the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star, the Meritorious Service Medal with eight oak leaf clusters, the Army Commendation Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Army Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, the Combat Action Badge, the Senior Parachutist Badge, the Air Assault Badge, and the Bronze German Parachutist Badge.

His son Justin is an Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) veteran and currently serves as a Public Affairs Specialist (DAC) with The 401st Army Field Support Brigade at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait.

Previous Fife and Drum Corps Commanders

• CW4 Jeremiah M. Keillor 2017-2019
• CW3 Joseph M. Newby, 2013-2017
• CW4 Frederick L. Ellwein, 2010-2013
• CW4 Gregory S. Balvanz, 2004-2010
• CW5 Jeanne Y. Pace, 1996-2004
• CW4 Steven H. Campbell, 1995-1996