Gunnery Sergeant Grunes currently serves as the Enlisted Conductor of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing Band. He assists the Director in the musical development of the band and directs, trains, and manages the musical performances of the full band. Gunnery Sergeant Grunes supervises the management and development of the band’s various small ensembles and manages the Music Library and historical records of the band.
Gunnery Sergeant Grunes holds a Bachelor of Music from the University of Delaware, and studied clarinet under Luciano Leone, Jr. and Marianne Gythfeldt. He studied conducting under Dr. Brian Stone.
Gunnery Sergeant Grunes enlisted in the US Marine Corps in 2002 and completed Recruit Training at Marine Corps Recruit Depot Parris Island and Marine Combat Training at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. He completed the Basic Music Course in 2003 at the Armed Forces School of Music in Virginia Beach, Virginia.
Gunnery Sergeant Grunes served as a clarinet instrumentalist in the following Fleet Marine Bands: III Marine Expeditionary Force Band (2003-2004); 1st Marine Division Band (2004-2007); Parris Island Marine Band (2012-2014); Marine Band San Diego (2015-2017); 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band (2020-2023). From 2007-2012, he served in the 287th Army Band. As do all Fleet Marine musicians, Gunnery Sergeant Grunes served in a variety of music, collateral duty, and leadership roles, to include Platoon leadership.
Gunnery Sergeant Grunes deployed in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom (2006). In 2017, Gunnery Sergeant Grunes served as an Instructor at the Naval School of Music.
Gunnery Sergeant Grunes was promoted to his current rank in 2022 and served as the Enlisted Conductor of the following Fleet Marine Band: 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing Band (2022-2023).
Gunnery Sergeant Grunes attended the Unit Leader Course (2015) and is a graduate of the Advanced School Seminar (2024). Gunnery Sergeant Grunes was one of the recipients of the 2019 Colonel Finley R. Hamilton Outstanding Military Musician Award. His military awards include the Army Achievement Medal and the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal (3rd Award).