Tops in Blue Gunfighter members return home to entertain

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Samantha S. Crane
  • 366th Fighter Wing Public Affairs Office
MOUNTAIN HOME AIR FORCE BASE, Idaho --  During the Jan. 15 Tops in Blue show in Hangar 201, Gunfighters welcomed back two performers who left Mountain Home Air Force Base a year earlier to start a one-year tour with the group.

Senior Airman Benjamin Taylor, 366th Civil Engineer Squadron, and Tech. Sgt. Jennifer Dack, 366th Mission Support Squadron, were selected to join the team of singers, dancers, instrumentalists and stage hands who sing and dance their way through an average of 160 performances at 100 locations each year.

The two Airmen first received news of their selection for the 2007 Tops in Blue team on Nov. 16, 2006, and have been touring around the world since. They returned here to perform "The Fly-By, A Musical Tribute to 60 Years of Proud Air Force History" to Gunfighters.

After sending in application tapes, they were selected to travel to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, to compete against more than 75 other Airmen for spots on the team. They participated in vocal training, choreography, freestyle dancing, rap sessions and specialty auditions where they improvised random situations.

"I had to pretend I was a runner in an Olympics game," said Airman Taylor in an interview last year. "I had to run in slow motion and jump over fake hurdles."

After auditions, they returned home to await news on whether they would join the team.

On Nov. 16, Col. Anthony Rock, former 366th Fighter Wing commander, gave Sergeant Dack the good news.

"The first thing I did was jump up and down and squeal like a little girl," she said in an interview last year. "Then I promptly returned back to parade rest, because, you know, the wing commander was in my office."

Airman Taylor was notified during a commander's call by Lt. Col. Timothy Wood, 366th CES commander. While Sergeant Dack was selected her first time, it was Airman Taylor's third, proving to Airmen that if they don't succeed the first time, trying again can pay off.

"I have a sense of pride being here," Airman Taylor said. "You have to come together with 30 other people with different backgrounds and live with them as brothers and sisters. It's been a great experience."

The show started in 1947, bringing Peggy Lee; 1957 brought Dion and the Belmonts and the Beach Boys; 1967 came with Johnny Cash; 1977 introduced Stevie Wonder; and 1987 showcased Renato Russo.

The performers' energy washed over the crowd as audience members sang along and a lucky few danced with the singers as they walked through the aisles.

People cheered as the camera man took to the stage to dance, clapped during the musicians' solos and watched excitedly as the singers surprised them with a laser show.

The show ended on a patriotic note with Lee Greenwood's "God Bless the U.S.A" and a refrain of the Air Force song.

"This is the moment I've been waiting for," said Sergeant Dack. "To come back and feel like this is still my home is awesome. To be able to perform for all the people who are filling my shoes while I'm gone is a way to say thank you."

Sergeant Dack and Airman Taylor will continue touring with the team through February, returning to the Gunfighters in March.

"I'm very proud of Airman Taylor," said Tech. Sgt. Darryl Glenn, "he's an awesome troop. It's great to see that people can use their talents outside their career fields in the Air Force."

While also performing 160 shows in ten months, the group works extremely hard to keep everything running.

"Behind the scenes, we're moving about 60,000 pounds of equipment all around the world," said Capt. Alexander Ruiz, tour director. "There's a lot of hard labor involved and a lot of logistical issues. There's a lot of hard work behind the scenes."

On Jan. 16, the captain personally thanked Sergeant Dack's and Airman Taylor's respective commanders, presenting each with a plaque and surprising Airmen from each squadron with a short performance from the previous night's show.

The group will continue their tour through February, performing about 20 more shows; after which, the two Gunfighters will return home and a new set of Airmen will compete to join the group's next tour.

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