Kirtland officer selected for Tops in Blue

  • Published
  • By Erin Tindell
  • Air Force Personnel, Services and Manpower Public Affairs
Kirtland Air Force Base --  SAN ANTONIO (AFNS) -- 1st Lt. Kandis Rich, a program manager in the 705th Combat Training Squadron at Kirtland Air Force Base, is one of 35 Airmen selected for the 2012 Tops in Blue tour.

"I feel honored and blessed to be selected for this year's team," Rich said. "Last year, after not making it past the initial selection process, I received feedback from the performance director and worked to improve in those areas. If you really want something and you put forth an effort, dreams can be achieved. I am excited and I look forward to beginning the process to be a member of Tops in Blue."

In January, more than 80 Airmen competed as singers, dancers, musicians, magicians and technicians for Tops in Blue slots during the annual Air Force Worldwide Talent Search at Lackland AFB, Texas.

The selected Airmen will go on to serve as Air Force ambassadors in the Air Force's premier expeditionary entertainment unit, traveling to more than 20 countries and performing more than 120 shows this year.

The following are members of the 2012 Tops in Blue tour:

Vocalists
Senior Airman Charles Cooper, Ramstein Air Base, Germany
Senior Airman Jessica Cunningham, Tinker AFB, Okla.
1st Lt. Ashley Elmore, Ellsworth AFB, S.D.
Senior Airman Robin Elrod, Osan AB, Korea
Airman 1st Class Joseph Hardeman, Cannon AFB, N.M.
Airman 1st Class Briana Hofreiter, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
Senior Airman Joanell Jackson, Fort Stewart, Ga.
Staff Sgt. Tyron Jones, Yokota AB, Japan
Airman 1st Class Joseph Kay, Dyess AFB, Texas
Airman 1st Class Jonathan Leak, Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Hawaii
Master Sgt. Matthew Lemieux, Ramstein AB, Germany
Senior Airman Emmanuel Maldonado Rosario, Keesler AFB, Miss.
Tech. Sgt. Tonie Marshall, Holloman AFB, N.M.
Senior Airman Kerrilee Meeker, Patrick AFB, Fla.
2nd Lt. Joseph Mitchell, Royal Air Force Lakenheath, United Kingdom
1st Lt. Kandis Rich, Kirtland AFB, N.M.
Airman 1st Class Timothy Sentz, Scott AFB, Ill.
Senior Airman Brandi Skillman, Minot AFB, N.D.
Staff Sgt. Gilbert Tarnate, Travis AFB, Calif.

Instrumentalists
Airman 1st Class Alexander Allred, Vandenberg AFB, Calif.
Airman 1st Class Kenneth Del Valle Ruiz, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
Staff Sgt. Daniel Knight, Peterson AFB, Colo.
Airman 1st Class Jessica Pitts, Spangdahlem AB, Germany
Tech. Sgt. Gabriel Stocker, Gunter AFB, Ala.
Staff Sgt. Joshua Tarrant, Buckley AFB, Colo.
Airman 1st Class Wynton Warren, Kadena AB, Japan
Staff Sgt. Anthony Williams, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.
Senior Airman Kyle Willis, Whiteman AFB, Mo.

Technicians
Senior Airman Ruth Bryce, Tinker AFB, Okla.
Senior Airman Brian Corsetti, Nellis AFB, Nev.
Airman 1st Class Nicholas Grazulis, Mountain Home AFB, Idaho
Master Sgt. Kristopher Kobernus, Ramstein AB, Germany
Tech. Sgt. Michael Menges, Eglin AFB, Fla.
Airman 1st Class Roger Payne, Shaw AFB, S.C.
Airman 1st Class Julian Saviano, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Va.

After completing a training regimen at Lackland AFB, the new Tops in Blue team will hit the road in June.
For a schedule of Tops in Blue performances or more information, visit www.topsinblue.com.
Follow Tops in Blue at www.twitter.com/aftopsinblue, the Facebook fan page at www.facebook.com/topsinblue or read blog entries at http://tib.dodlive.mil.

Editor's note: DJ Babbitt, 377th Air Base Wing Public Affairs, contributed to this article.