By at least a few weeks.
"When I was a kid, the practice was to sign your kid up the year they turned 1" to participate in the Colonial Williamsburg Fifes and Drums, Parks said. "You do that in January. So I was about 3 months old."
Aspiring fifers have to wait until age 10 to participate, but Parks played well enough in his hometown ensemble to land on the radar of the Army's Fife and Drum Corps. He auditioned after graduating college and earned a spot in what he called "the major leagues," enlisting in 2009.
He threw himself into the pursuit of the perfect performance. But he wanted a glimpse of the Army experience outside his fife-and-drum bubble.
"They asked us for our interest in schools," Parks, 29, said in a Thursday interview, "and one thing that really interested me was air assault."
Parks stands ready to officially receive his air assault badge after completing training in January at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Photo Credit: Army
That sign-up sheet started a journey Parks never expected: Twelve days at the Air Assault Course in Fort Benning, Georgia, part of the Warrior Training Center.
Marches took on a new meaning. Sling loads replaced sheet music. Parks found himself outside his comfort zone — or, more accurately, above it.
"Once I got on the tower, I realized I might be afraid of heights," he said. "I was nervous. I wasn't great at stopping, so when we were rappelling, I was nervous."
He credited his instructors with helping him persevere. He called jumping out of a helicopter during the training "one of the best moments of my life." And on Jan. 16, he became the first active FDC member in recent history to earn an air assault badge, according to an Army news release.
"Our organization is extremely busy during the spring through fall months with ceremonial support across the nation, which leaves a small window of opportunity for our soldiers to go to such training," Master Sgt. Russell Smith, FDC field first sergeant, said in the release. "But we were happy Staff Sgt. Parks was able to attend and encourage other soldiers from FDC to go as well."
Students gather near the base of a rappelling tower at the Air Assault Course at Fort Benning, Georgia.
Photo Credit: Army
Others have earned the badge prior to joining the unit, including the group's commander, Chief Warrant Officer 2 Joseph Newby. He and the rest of the unit wholly supported Parks' decision, the staff sergeant said.
About 70 fifers, drummers and buglers make up the FDC, which is part of 3rd Infantry Regiment, better known as "The Old Guard."
"We play music and we march with precision," Parks said, "but what they're teaching out there [at Benning] ... it's a life-or-death thing. There's an urgency to it.
"It instilled in me that if I'm going to do something, there's no middle ground. If I'm not giving my best, I'm not doing enough."
Parks said he had no immediate plans for future outside-the-fife training, but he's considered taking a master fitness trainer course.
And it would appear the fear of heights has subsided.
"I'm interested in airborne," he said. "But for me, personally, we're kind of limited in where we can send people ... I want to let other people have a chance."
Kevin Lilley is the features editor of Military Times.
