Tops in Blue

Airman 1st Class Jette Warnick from Cannon Air Force Base performed Wednesday with 29 other Tops in Blue performers at Greyhound Arena in Portales.

Warnick, 23, auditioned for Tops in Blue after an off hand comment and she said the experience has changed her life.

“I have a fear of public speaking and performing in front of crowds,” Warnick said, brushing seafoam green eyeshadow on her eyelids. “Well, I used to have a fear of it, I guess. And that’s helpful being in public affairs.”

Warnick also said the intensive labor and aerobic exercise from the show have improved her physical training scores. The cast of Tops in Blue is also the crew of Tops in Blue. Warnick said the team unloads the 68,000 pounds of equipment and sets up the stage for each of the over 100 performances.

Warnick also met and married her husband Staff Sgt. Daniel Carr from Pope Air Force Base. She said the couple met during auditions and became fast friends.

“It’s like dating in fast forward,” she said. “The show puts you in high pressure situations and crisis mode and you get to see every side of a person in Tops in Blue. After we left the desert, we decided we wanted to get married.”

The show toured in the Middle East in July and the couple married at Niagra Falls.

Warnick said one of the best things about being in Tops in Blue is being able to travel across the world.

“We spent Christmas in Afghanistan and the Fourth of July in Iraq. The world seems like a smaller place now,” Warnick said.

Paul Hopkins with Cannon’s Community Center said about 1,000 people attended the Tops in Blue performance at Greyhound Arena.