Airmen return home, perform with Tops in Blue

Photo By Ashley Maldonado-Suarez | Airman 1st Class Mitchell Dixon, 4th Component Maintenance Squadron aerospace propulsion journeyman, visits with Airmen from his squadron after performing a few numbers with other Tops in Blue members, Oct. 9, 2015, at Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C. After months of being on tour with Tops in Blue, Dixon was able to show another side of his life and career to his squadron. (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class Ashley Williamson)  

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, NC, UNITED STATES

10.15.2015

Story by Airman 1st Class Ashley Maldonado-Suarez 

4th Fighter Wing   

SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, N.C. - Of the 37 Airmen in this year’s Tops in Blue, two returned to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., to perform, Oct. 10, 2015 as part of the 54-stop worldwide tour.

Staff Sgt. Brandon Armagost, 4th Logistics Readiness Squadron fuels journeyman, and Airman 1st Class Mitchell Dixon, 4th Component Maintenance Squadron aerospace propulsion journeyman, have been traveling all over the United States and several other countries, but came back to their current duty station to perform in front of their friends, family and coworkers.

Armagost and Dixon were given the opportunity to perform a few songs for and speak to their squadrons Oct. 9, 2015 and talk about their experiences with Tops in Blue. This also gave them an opportunity to show an example of what the performance would consist of the following evening.

“It (performing back at Seymour Johnson AFB) was actually way more fun than I thought it was going to be,” said Dixon, who is a vocalist on this year’s TIB tour. “It didn’t really hit me that I was coming home until I got here. This and my career field are two completely opposing things. So, bringing that part of my life to here is completely amazing. This was probably one of the most fun shows I’ve had.”

The TIB team put together a variation of songs from many decades of years past. Songs performed ranged from 1930s barbershop quartets to modern day artists such as Bill Haley and the Comets, Michael Bolton and Sam Smith.

“When I first came into the military, all I wanted to do was travel,” said Armagost, this year’s TIB lighting director. “So, the opportunity to travel around the world, see all these bases, entertain troops, as well as being able to control and be a part of the tech department and doing lighting, is something that I’ve always loved to do.”

To prove they are the best the Air Force could offer, Armagost and Dixon put forth all of their effort, talent and experience in the auditioning process for Tops in Blue.

“It’s something I have looked forward to for about five years,” said Armagost. “I’ve tried multiple times between PCSs and deployments; things just hadn’t worked out. So to have the opportunity to just PCS to Seymour and to be able to take advantage of this is extraordinary. Tops in Blue only takes the best of the best. It’s something that you have to completely put your whole entire effort into.”

Transitioning into the show life for seven months, always being on the move and seeing many new places and faces, proved to be tough but rewarding for Armagost and Dixon. Traveling and making connections with people they otherwise may have never met helped give them a new perspective.

“Tops in Blue showed me all the different types of people in the military, all the types of people that are in these career fields and how different things function,” Dixon said. “That much difference was not easy at first. I feel like it straightened me out a little bit, in some degree. I’m grateful for that, but by no means was it easy at all.”

Dixon added that his TIB cast mates are considered family now and said he’s learned so much from the diversity this experience has exposed him to.

“I feel I have closer connections to (my TIB peers) than some people I grew up with and have known for years,” he said. “Definitely seeing as much of the military as I got to see, going to all these different bases, seeing all these places and meeting all these different people, I feel has taught me more about people than I thought I already knew. The more you go out and the more you see the world, you realize how small you are and how much is out there.”

As the show wrapped up and Dixon and Armagost said their final goodbyes and they were off again for 18 more stops on the year-long journey before returning, once again, to Seymour Johnson AFB to continue careers.

• Date Taken: 10.15.2015
• Date Posted: 10.15.2015 17:11
• Story ID: 179059
• Location: SEYMOUR JOHNSON AIR FORCE BASE, NC, US