Navy Band Northwest Leadership

Navy Band Northwest Leadership Biographies

Director, Navy Band Northwest

Lieutenant Junior Grade David Drescher

Lieutenant Junior Grade David Drescher, a native of Roselawn, Indiana, enlisted in the Navy in 2008 and upon completing Musician “A” School, reported to Seventh Fleet Band in Yokosuka, Japan. LTJG Drescher’s subsequent tours include U.S. Fleet Forces Band and Navy Band Great Lakes.

He earned his commission as a bandmaster through the Limited Duty Officer program and reported to his first assignment as Staff and Concert/Ceremonial Band Department Head for the United States Navy Band, Washington, D.C.

LTJG Drescher attended Indiana State University and holds a Bachelor of Music Education and a master’s degree in Saxophone Performance.

His military decorations include the Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (two awards) and Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (five awards).

Assistant Director, Navy Band Northwest

Senior Chief Musician John Wheeler

Senior Chief Musician John Wheeler enlisted in the Navy as a Trumpet Instrumentalist in 2004 after studying trumpet performance at the University of Delaware. After accession training and MU “A” School, he was assigned to Navy Band Southwest and Navy Band New Orleans where he served in a variety of musical and collateral roles.

After graduating Unit Leader “C” School at Naval School of Music, he reported to U. S. Pacific Fleet Band, where he served as Musical Director and Leading Petty Officer for Pacific Partnership 2011 and 2012 aboard USS CLEVELAND (LPD 7) and USNS MERCY (T-AH 19) where he earned his Enlisted Surface Warfare Specialist qualifications.

After detaching Pacific Fleet Band, he attended the Senior Musician Course at Naval School of Music with follow-on training at the Command Career Counselor School. He was subsequently assigned to Naval Forces Europe Band in Naples Italy where he was selected for Chief Petty Officer in 2015. Duty assignments included Unit Leader, Chief-in-Charge of numerous units operating forward, Command Career Counselor, and Administration and Operations Department Head.

In August 2018, he was assigned to Navy Band Southwest as Operations Department Head, and Leading Chief.

In May 2021, he was assigned as Fleet Band Activities Materiel Manager responsible for all materiel acquisition and inventory management for 10 Fleet Bands. He selected for Senior Chief Petty Officer in the Spring of 2021. His tour at Navy Music program management was abbreviated when he was selected as Senior Enlisted Leader and Assistant Director of Navy Band Northwest where he reported in December of 2022.

Senior Chief Wheeler’s military decorations include: Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (three awards), Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (five awards), and various unit and service awards. He is a graduate of the U.S. Navy Senior Enlisted Academy (Class 254 Gold).

Google Translation Disclaimer

Google Translate, a third party service provided by Google, performs all translations directly and dynamically.
Commander, Navy Region Northwest, cnrnw.cnic.navy.mil has no control over the features, functions, or performance of the Google Translate service.
The automated translations should not be considered exact and should be used only as an approximation of the original English language content.
This service is meant solely for the assistance of limited English-speaking users of the website.
Commander, Navy Region Northwest, cnrnw.cnic.navy.mil does not warrant the accuracy, reliability, or timeliness of any information translated.
Some items cannot be translated, including but not limited to image buttons, drop down menus, graphics, photos, or portable document formats (pdfs).
Commander, Navy Region Northwest, cnrnw.cnic.navy.mil does not directly endorse Google Translate or imply that it is the only language translation solution available to users.
All site visitors may choose to use similar tools for their translation needs. Any individuals or parties that use Commander, Navy Region Northwest, cnrnw.cnic.navy.mil content in translated form, whether by Google Translate or by any other translation services, do so at their own risk.
IE users: Please note that Google Translate may not render correctly when using Internet Explorer. Users are advised to use MS Edge, Safari, Chrome, or Firefox browser to take full advantage of the Google Translate feature.
The official text of content on this site is the English version found on this website. If any questions arise related to the accuracy of the information contained in translated text, refer to the English version on this website, it is the official version.