Tops in Blue entertains Team Yokota

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Lynsie Nichols
  • 374th Airlift Wing Public Affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  Tops in Blue performed for Team Yokota and their families at the Taiyo Community Center here, Jan. 20-21.

TIB, an all-active duty special unit made up of talented amateur performers, selected for their entertainment abilities, entertains more than 250,000 military personnel and their families worldwide, according to a TIB factsheet.

For more information on TIB, visit www.topsinblue.com

Mindy Cameron, a native of Hudson, Ohio, has had experience working with TIB since 2000 when she toured as a vocalist. In 2006, she started working with TIB to help pick the talent and plan the shows. This year, she is trying something new by working as a tour manager.

"Everyday, I wake up feeling happy knowing that I am right where I want to be and making a difference," said Mrs. Cameron. "I know so much about being on the other side, since I was a performer; I feel that I can help them out a lot more than other tour managers."

Contestants auditioning for TIB are put through an extensive and demanding process.

The Headquarters Air Force Services Agency located in San Antonio, reviews hundreds of application videos sent in for auditions, and then selects 80 contestants to travel to Texas and compete for the final 30 to 35 spots on TIB team.

Once the members are chosen for TIB, they are flown to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio to work with the Chief of Air Force Entertainment for two and a half months learning choreography for the show.

"They start off working 12 hours a day and it gets progressively longer as the two and a half months go by, and by the end of that time, they're working about 18-20 hour days and coming in at various times during the day and night to get accustomed to having to travel half way around the world," said Mrs. Cameron. "They go through hard work to help prepare them to be on the road, it's pretty amazing."

TIB members tour for one year and are placed in a permissive temporary duty assignment status.

"TIB members are not paid any additional money," said Mrs. Cameron. "They are just out there doing this because they love doing it."

TIB does not have a technical crew to help with the set up and tear down of each show. Members from the team work together to do this for each and every show.

"We carry the 60,000 pounds of equipment and set everything up, then we do the show, after that we tear everything down together as a team," said Mrs. Cameron. "It's pretty amazing what Tops in Blue accomplishes day after day."