Love of performing leads 944th member to follow her dream

  • Published
  • By Tech. Sgt Barbara Plante
  • 944th 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 has made the 2012 team for the Air Force Tops in Blue.

For almost 60 years, Tops in Blue, a special Air Force unit of talented amateur performers have been proud to represent the United States with 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 festival, 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 ever made the decision to audition. "Probably the most notable was when I was deployed to Al Udeid, Qatar in 2005. I had no clue that the Air Force had any such programs 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 for the team in 2005, however it just wasn't her time yet and she did not make the team that year. 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 of yourself 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 your talent is you must still audition in each area. The goal is to see everyone's full potential. After all 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." said Dedmon.

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

Memorable moments of her time on the team were in abundance however, there was one event at a deployed location which really stuck with Dedmon. "I sang the last song in the show, God Bless the USA by Lee Greenwood (this has been the very last song in every Tops in Blues show for over 25 years). Afterwards we spent a little time shaking hands and thanking everyone for their service and for coming to the show. I saw a soldier standing off to the side as if he were waiting for everyone around me to leave. Once they did he came over and shook my hand. He thanked me for singing that last song. He told me how much it meant to him and to the friends he's lost on deployment. It reminded me why we were their; to take those troops minds off of what's happening around them even if it's just for an hour and a half."

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

Many do not quite understand the actual physical labor that goes into being a member of Tops in Blue. The group has approximately 65 to 70 thousand pounds of equipment and unlike the big stars, 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 can't audition because you "kind of like to dance," if that's the case, you'll be miserable all year. 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 someone interested to start working 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. 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."