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Osan Airman selected for Tops in Blue

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Brok McCarthy
  • 51st Fighter Wing Public Affairs
OSAN AIR BASE, Republic of Korea --  Not many people can say they are the best at anything in the Air Force, but one Osan Airman can claim he is, at least for this year.

Senior Airman Rick Rosales, 51st Dental Squadron, received the Rodger Award, first place, for Male Vocalists when competing in San Antonio, Texas, at the Tops in Blue annual Worldwide Talent Contest Nov. 5 to 13.

"The night of the banquet -- when they announced the number two male vocalist -- a flood of emotions came over me ... everything got tight and I felt nauseous ," Senior Airman Rosales said. "Then they announced First Place Male Vocalist Roger Recipient for World Wide 2006. My fellow competitors cheered and screamed as I was awe struck and my eyes welled up as I walked forward to receive The Roger, hugging all the faculty and prior Tops in Blue members who had helped me along the way."

Throughout the week, 62 Airmen from across the Air Force performed in various vocal, instrument and dance competitions. Senior Airman Rosales' week ended after he sung CeCe Winans', "Mercy Said No."

He also was selected to be a vocal member of the 54th Tops in Blue troupe, which will be his second time to go on tour. The first time he was a member was with the 2003 "Soaring with Eagles" show.

"I'm very excited to be going back for a second time," Senior Airman Rosales said. "If you're going to be in the military, you should do something that you love. And I love my job, but I love singing more."

He said while it's not unheard of for people to be a Top in Blue member more than once in their careers, there aren't many; only one or two people on a tour has been a member before.

When he leaves in the beginning of January, Senior Airman Rosales will spend two months in San Antonio training for the show before embarking on a world-wide tour taking them to every major Air Force installation - that's more than 150 stops, over about nine months.

The Tops In Blue mission is 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 U.S. and the Air Force.