TUCSON, Ariz. – For one Arizona Air Guardsman, a year-long tour with the 2008 Tops in Blue team was about more than singing and dancing her way around the world.
"It ended up being way more than that. In the end it was about the mission," said Tech. Sgt. Chandra Smith. "We raised the morale of troops and communities around the world for nine months. And that, to me, was the mission – the job."
In mid-March, Smith, a personnel specialist assigned to the 162nd Fighter Wing's Alert Detachment here at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, returned home to family and friends.
During the most "incredibly challenging and most rewarding" year of her life, Smith and her team of 27 dancers, singers and musicians performed about 140 shows at virtually every U.S. air base around the world.
Afghanistan, Iraq, Kyrgyzstan, Greenland, United Arab Emirates, Kuwait, Germany, Italy and Spain were just a few stops on the Tops in Blue tour.
"We saw Chandra with Tops in Blue while we were deployed to Baghdad International Airport last year," said Maj. Steve Weatherford, who led the 162nd's Security Forces Squadron from Tucson to Iraq on a six-month deployment. "The show was great, and Chandra was terrific. It meant a lot to us to see one of our fellow wing members in that show. You almost forget where you are when you see them perform."
Smith had several encounters with 162nd members during her travels. The wing's medical group watched her perform in a Fourth of July show, and she ran into wing maintainers in Kuwait.
"It's a small world. It was comforting to see all those people from home," she said.
In January, a visit to Soto Cano Air Base, Honduras turned out to be the source of Smith's most memorable experience on tour.
"We were able to visit three orphanages there. It was a very touching experience," she said. "The kids didn't know who we were or even that we had candy in our pockets. They just wanted to hug us. We were able to interact with them and sing songs for them. And even though they didn't speak English, they had a great time. I wish I could have brought home 10 of them."
As the Air Force's expeditionary entertainers, the team found themselves in extremely remote locations. The most distant of all was Shemya, Alaska, the outer-most of the Aleutian Islands. It's the most western part of the United States and home to roughly 150 U.S. government employees.
"You could almost see Russia, we were so far out there," Smith said. "It ended up being one of the best places we visited. The people were the most welcoming and appreciative."
Now with enough memories and stories to last a lifetime, Smith is easing back into the life she lived only 12 short months ago.
"I'm enjoying time with family and friends right now," she said. "I definitely missed my husband Adam incredibly … first and foremost. I also missed my Guard family at the alert detachment.
"There were times when I was on the road that I couldn't imagine having a normal work routine again, but now that I'm home I ready for a normal life."
Smith said she is grateful to her unit, which supported her during her tour. "While I was away, the love, support and prayers from all of the people at my unit really meant a lot."
As a former member of the performance team, Smith is now part of Tops in Blue Priors, the group's alumni association. They hold reunions every 10 years and often help at the world-wide talent competitions held annually at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas.
"These are my brothers and sisters. They are going to forever live in my memory. We'll see each other again."