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Actor Gary Sinise set to rock the Pentagon

One doesn’t normally associate the Pentagon’s center court area — known by its Cold War moniker, “Ground Zero” — with a rockin’ party atmosphere.

At noon on Friday, that will change briefly, but dramatically, when the Lt. Dan Band, led by actor Gary Sinise, takes the stage to play a free concert for troops and visitors in honor of Military Appreciation Month.

If the group’s sound clips are any guide, the jet airliners leaving nearby National Airport — which supply the court’s normal soundtrack — will not be very audible.

Sinise and his band, named for the actor’s evocative role in the 1994 movie Forrest Gump, have played USO concerts for troops around the world. The band plays rock and roll, but its repertoire also includes country, soul and jam music. According to its MySpace site, it sounds like “every artist you can imagine.”

Co-hosting the show are Marine Corps Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs, and the Pentagon’s America Supports You public-relations program.