Love of performing challenges 944th Airman to follow dream

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt. Barbara Plante
  • 944th Fighter Wing Public Affairs
LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. --  Singing from the moment she first spoke and entertaining in public ever since joining a children's choir at age four, Senior Airman Joleen Dedmon, 944th Medical Squadron dental assistant, was absolutely elated when she found out she had made the 2012 Air Force Tops in Blue team.

For almost 60 years, Tops in Blue, a special Air Force unit of talented amateur performers has been proud to represent the United States through its rich entertainment history. Team members have traveled well over four million miles to military bases around the world, performed at six World Fairs, more than 100 state fairs and festivals, and entertained at countless air shows, military balls and special events.

Dedmon, a 29-year old from Canton, Ohio, got to see Tops in Blue perform several times before she decided to audition.

"Probably the most notable time was when I was deployed to Al Udeid, Qatar, in 2005," she said. "I had no clue that the Air Force had such a program and was excited to speak to one of the performers after the show who told me all about Tops in Blue and how to audition."

She auditioned in 2005 but didn't make the team. In 2007, Dedmon separated from the Air Force to continue her education. When she made the decision in 2011 to join the Air Force Reserve and continue her military career there was no question in her mind that she would try out for the team again.

In 2012, determined to achieve this goal she began the journey again, which according to Dedmon is an interesting process.

First you must submit a written application (available on the Tops in Blue website) and a video performing whatever talent you plan to showcase.

Her efforts paid off big and she was asked to attend the live auditions at Joint Base San Antonio Lackand, Texas.

During the 10-day live audition process, all those selected are sent through six auditions; vocal, instrumental, dance, interview and final show performance, which means regardless of what talent everyone must audition in each area. The goal is to see everyone's full potential. After the auditions, the Air Force Entertainment staff selects the team.

"The team is not necessarily made up of the most talented performers, but rather the group of people they think will get along and perform the best together," Dedmon said.

This time she got the gold and was selected as one of 30 members of the Tops in Blue 2012 team.

She says she has many memories of her time on the team. She described one event at a deployed location which really stuck with her.

"I sang the last song in the show, God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood (the last song in every Tops in Blues show for more than 25 years)," she said. "Afterward, we spent a little time shaking hands and thanking everyone for their service and for coming to the show. I saw a Soldier waiting off to the side. When everyone had left, he came over and shook my hand and thanked me for singing the song. He told me how much it meant to him and to the friends he'd lost on deployment. It reminded me why we were there; to take service members' minds off what's happening around them even if it's just for a short time."

For Dedmon the best part of being on the team was a no-brainer, she said. She loves performing. "It was hard and took a lot of work to get everything set up, but after that, we had an hour and a half of fun before we had to start tearing down again," she said.

Most people have no idea of the actual physical labor each member is involved in as a member of the Tops in Blue team. The group has approximately 65,000 to 70,000 pounds of equipment and unlike well-known performers, they don't have any roadies. The 30 team members set up and tear down every show, which for Dedmon's group was about 120 shows.

As for advice to anyone who would like to become a member of the team, Dedmon said it is something you must be passionate about.

"You put in so much work that you really have to love it to make it worth your while," she said.

She would also tell anyone interested to start working on their talent.

"If you're a singer and you sing one hour a week right now, you need to start singing every day, as much as possible," she said. "The auditions are 10 days long and you'll be performing every day. You'll need the endurance to perform over and over and over."

Although the look and sound of Tops in Blue may have changed over the decades, the mission is virtually the same, "To serve as an expeditionary entertainment unit to provide quality entertainment from within Air Force resources for the Air Force family, with priority to Air Force personnel stationed worldwide at remote and deployed locations while simultaneously promoting community relations, supporting recruiting efforts and serving as ambassadors for the United States of America and the United States Air Force."