Loadmaster returns home, brings along Tops in Blue

  • Published
  • By Senior Airman Joe McFadden
  • 1st Special Operations Wing Public Affairs
HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. --  The 16th AMU Hangar had been the location of many homecomings here, but one for an Air Commando loadmaster even came with a soundtrack and lighting crew.

Staff Sgt. Steven Sonnier, 1st Special Operations Group MC-130 loadmaster, returned home March 11 - along with his troupe, Tops in Blue, the premier entertainment showcase of the U.S. Air Force, for a complementary concert at Hurlburt Field. The musical group, comprised of Airmen from various career fields, entertained more than 300 Airmen, retirees and their families.

"I can't tell you how much this means to me," Sergeant Sonnier said. "I'm really excited to see my friends and family in the audience supporting me out here tonight. To have come from where I've been a year ago to Iraq, Afghanistan, all over the Pacific and Europe and finally back here for the last month is just mind-boggling."

Belting out tunes from singers like Lady Gaga, Stevie Wonder and the Black Eyed Peas, the group's vocalists, musicians and audio/visual technicians converted the hangar used for military departures and Operation Homecomings into one of the group's stop along their 2010 "We Believe" tour of Air Force installations around the world.

Up to the night of the performance, the group had already completed more than 125 shows at Air Force bases in 25 countries, including for deployed Airmen in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Tops in Blue is not only our guest tonight, they are our family," said Col. Curt Van De Walle, 1st Special Operations Mission Support Group commander. "They may come from different ranks and career fields, but they are first and foremost stellar Airmen and great ambassadors for the U.S. Air Force."

The concert not only gave Sergeant Sonnier an opportunity to sing solos from REO Speedwagon and Michael Buble, but was his first time back to Hurlburt Field since leaving for the training at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, in May 2010.

And while he traded in his flight suit and protective gear for bright, sparkling outfits and make up, Sergeant Sonnier never skimped on his loadmaster skills. He, along his with his Tops in Blue members, set up, tore down and palletized more than 65,000 pounds of equipment from show to show.

"My responsibilities haven't shifted too far from where I am as a profession," he said. "It's and intense and extremely rigorous schedule beginning with two-and-a-half months of training in choreography, learning the music, lighting, positions and dance moves. I've actually lost 35 pounds in the last year."

Although his work schedule didn't permit time for him to visit the 1st SOG, he did get a chance to visit with fellow Air Commandos while on tour, including a concert in Afghanistan on Christmas Eve.

As incredible as he said it was for him to perform in front of his colleagues at home, Sergeant Sonnier described the opportunity to appear in the Super Bowl's pre-game show as the most surreal.

"While it seemed like a quick second of time to me, it was a blessing for me to perform there on that stage," he said. I've had people come up to me and say 'I've served 20 years in the Air Force, and you have no idea how amazing it was to see you and the Air Force before the Super Bowl.' It's amazing to see how the things we've done on this tour have really touched people."

With just days until the final March 27 concert in San Antonio, Texas, Sergeant Sonnier will soon return to his original job, where his crew will no longer consist of back-up vocalists and dancers, but special operations Airmen leading the fight any time, any place. But the journey along the way has always been as the realization of a dream, just as he said when he was first selected back in March 2010.

"All I can say is 'Wow!'" Sergeant Sonnier said. "Now that it's coming to a conclusion, I'm looking forward to getting back to my job. This has been a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for me to represent the Air Force, the 1st Special Operations Wing and Operations Group to the whole world."