Air Force week showcases Tops In Blue Airmen

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Ben Gonzales
  • Air Force News Agency
MABLETON, Ga. (AFPN) --  The Air Force's Heritage to Horizons motto took on a musical twist as the Air Force's premier entertainment group performed in front of 1,000 Georgians Oct. 9 at the Mableton Amphitheater here.

The Airmen of Tops In Blue serenaded the Peach State audience as part of Air Force Week Atlanta to showcase the men and women who wear the uniform and to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Air Force.

Tops In Blue Airmen presented musical tributes and also shared with the audience facts and heritage information about the Air Force during its six decades of existence. The entertainers brought the music to life while singing, playing their instruments, break dancing, two-stepping and pulling members from the audience up to dance with them.

The show was especially meaningful for Sandra Campbell, who drove more than six hours from Elizabethton, Tenn., to watch her son, Senior Airman Benjamin Taylor, perform. He is on tour with Tops In Blue this year and is a refrigeration journeyman assigned to the 366th Civil Engineer Squadron at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho.

"I am so proud of him and what he does," Ms. Campbell said after watching her son sing throughout the performance. "During the show, I felt like he was singing just to me."

Lighting up the stage for the Tops In Blue performers is the responsibility of Senior Airman Patrick Crossland. He is the lighting director for the tour and a boom operator with the 351st Air Refueling Squadron at Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England.

"We have to be versatile and adaptive to put on our shows," said the Sierra Vista, Ariz. native. "We want to give the same quality show every time. Our show instills morale and shows the public what our Air Force is all about."

Singing just miles from his hometown of Stone Mountain, Ga., Tech. Sgt. Keith Martin said, "There is something about being home that makes you want to 'show off.'"

The vocalist from the Air Force Reserve Command's 43rd Flying Training Squadron at Columbus AFB, Miss., said he wants each audience to enjoy the show. "I'm gonna make you love me," Sergeant Martin's favorite song he and others perform that was originally sung by the Temptations and Supremes, surmises his efforts for the worldwide audience.

With more than 160 shows during their annual tour, the Tops In Blue Airmen sing, dance and play musical selections around the world, including Iraq and Afghanistan. But it all starts after Airmen audition for Tops In Blue and then compete at the worldwide talent contest to be part of the Air Force's premier entertainment group.

"As someone who has toured, seeing today's performance was so exciting," said Daryl Harris from Duluth, Ga. Mr. Harris toured for three years with Tops In Blue while in the Air Force as an electrician. Today he sings with a corporate band in Atlanta, but Mr. Harris has continued to serve the team since 1999 by helping Airmen prepare for the stage at the worldwide talent contest that selects Airmen for Tops In Blue.

"It was like watching my babies grow," Mr. Harris said of watching the Airmen he trained before the annual tour during the worldwide talent contest. "Now the Airmen are polished entertainers. You can tell the people in the audience were touched by the performance. Tops In Blue helped me become a better entertainer and catapulted me into an industry I was afraid of. Tops In Blue gave me that start."

"These are just super kids," said retired Col. Jack Gillis, who hung up his uniform in 1993 after a 26-year career. "They are maintainers, logistics support members and security forces, and I'd like to thank them for being in my Air Force."

Other events for Air Force Week Atlanta include HH-60 Pave Low helicopter demonstrations at area high schools, a legal symposium at the University of Georgia at Athens, Airmen and equipment demonstrations at the Great Georgia Air Show, and an Air Force ball to conclude the week.

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