Airman reunites with Tops In Blue husband in Kyrgyzstan

Air Force Link ^ | Staff Sgt. Olufemi Owolabi, USAF

[SandRat]

7/17/2009 - MANAS AIR BASE, Kyrgyzstan (AFNS) -- The special effects and streaming lights on the stage were not as bright as the smiles that illuminated the faces of audience members during the Tops In Blue's debut of the 2009 "To Dream" tour July 10 at the Transit Center at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan.

The group's performance was a dream come true for deployed Tech. Sgt. Patrika Boone; not because she hadn't seen the group perform before, but rather she was seeing her husband perform on stage for the first time. Staff Sgt. Wendell Boone Jr is a lead vocalist with Tops In Blue.

The Tops In Blue visit to the Transit Center at Manas AB July 8 through 11 allowed the two Airmen to reunite after they bid each other farewell in March.

The hopes of seeing each other looked thin in March because he was deploying with the Air Force's expeditionary entertainers on a tour for one year, while the she was preparing for her air and space expeditionary force deployment to Manas AB.

As fate would have it, their hopes were raised by the good news that she was being deployed to the Transit Center at Manas AB, where Tops In Blue was scheduled to perform in July.

She couldn't wait for that day. When it finally came she was the happiest person sitting in the center row, directly facing the stage, with a beaming smile on her face.

"It is amazing to see him perform," she said. "Seeing him here is a blessing."

Though the two try to stay in touch with their three children every day, calls made back home July 8 through 11 caught their children by surprise.

"My wife and I called them yesterday, and they were surprised to know we are here together," he said. "They were also very happy to hear us together."

Despite the stress of their deployments on their family, the Boones' said they believe in dreams and are patriotic.

According to the couple, they are both part of the same team, they are both Air Force expeditionary Airmen.

"We're both doing the same thing ... just under a different scenario," Sergeant Boone said, who is deployed here from Robins Air Force Base, Ga. "He volunteered to participate in Tops In Blue and it was my time to do it (deploy) because I was called to. He is pursuing his dreams, and if he is happy, then I am happy too."

This is not the first time they have been separated while serving in the Air Force.

When he auditioned and was selected for the Tops in Blue in 2007 he toured with the group for a year. Unfortunately, his wife was unable to see him perform because she was also deployed at the time and missed all his shows.

They said they both missed each other and agree they miss their family and three children more.

Sergeant Boone has a few months left, after which she will be home to take care of their children who are now living with family. As for him, his journey continues with Tops In Blue until March 2010.

[SandRat]

Tech. Sgt. Patrika Boone reunites with her husband Staff Sgt. Wendell Boone Jr., a vocalist with
Tops In Blue, during the Air Force Expeditionary Entertainers' visit to the Transit Center July 10
at Manas Air Base, Kyrgyzstan. During the visit, Tops In Blue performed two shows at Manas AB.
Sergeant Boone, assigned to the 376th Expeditionary Logistics Readiness Squadron here, is deployed
from Robins Air Force Base, Ga., while her husband is an air transportation apprentice with the 69th Aerial Port Squadron at Andrews AFB, Md.

(U.S. Air Force photo/Staff Sgt. Olufemi Owolabi)