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A Kirkcaldy soldier has piped with pride on USS Pearl Harbor.

Pipe Major James Muir was on deck to pipe the ship into Nuku’alofa, Tonga – right in front the king’s palace and adding a taste of Scottish culture.

As a Senior Non-Commissioned (SNCO) infantry soldier and Pipe Major with the 3rd Battalion, The Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS), based in Fort George, he joined fellow musicians from Australia, Canada, Fiji, and New Zealand in bolstering the US Navy Fleet band.

The band performed seven times in the Fijian capital Suva and surrounding area, hosted by the band of the Republic of Fiji Military Forces who treated their guests to South Pacific hospitality and fresh coconuts. The combined band subsequently appeared on national TV, visited schools, and laid on public performances.

British Army Colour Sgt. James Muir, with the Pacific Partnership Band, plays the bagpipe on the flight deck of USS Pearl Harbor (*Pic: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Deirdre Marsac)

“At each school I gave the children and some teachers a chance to get a sound from the Great Highland Bagpipe” said James. “From all eight attempts only one very strong-lunged student managed to get a sound – met by great applause when successful and a big round of clapping and laughter when not.”

James was recently deployed with the US Navy-led Pacific Partnership on the USS Pearl Harbor. The six-month deployment operates across swathes of the Pacific, delivering assistance, guidance, training, education, and culture to thousands of people in more than half a dozen nations.

James added: “For my part in Pacific Partnership, I am immensely grateful that I was ever given the opportunity to be a part of such a wonderful team and mission – to be immersed in culture and practices different to your own is very special. It’s a special part of the world with some the friendliest and caring people I have ever come across.”

Pipers and drummers are an integral part of the Royal Regiment of Scotland; soldiers first and foremost, they are dual trained in machine guns and serve with the Regiment in conflicts all over the world. A testament of the versatility it takes to be part of this unique group of soldiers.

The British Army is recruiting right now to fill 10,000 jobs across the UK. Visit www.jobs.army.mod.uk.

Kirkcaldy piper on deck of USS Pearl Harbor and on TV in Fiji