Eds: Use file art of TIB performing. Suggested Facebook words: MORE MONEY FOR TOPS IN BLUE: Is Vegas-style showband worth your MWR funds?
The Air Force's traveling Tops in Blue music troupe is depending more this year on funds raised by morale, welfare and recreation activities — as corporate sponsorships remain uncertain and congressionally appropriated funding is unchanged from 2014. change ok?mh//sl yes
The group's at least $1.3 million $xx million?mh//sl fixed budget for 2015 includes more than $1 million $xx million?mh//sl fixedin MWR funds, a $114,000 or 12.6 percent increase from 2014.
The increase is due to a lodging rate increase of $53 to $60 for each Tops in Blue member at tour sites.for each Tops in Blue member at Air Force tour sites?mh,the Air Force said in a statement to Air Force Times.
The Air Force on March 26 announced the selection of 37 enlisted airmen and officers to make up the 2015 Tops in Blue team, which will tour from mid-May through late December.
Critics in the past have said that MWR money could otherwise help pay for on-base amenities that are more popular with airmen and their families, such as movie theaters, swimming pools, libraries and hobby shops, which face budget crunches of their own.
Many airmen — including some former Tops in Blue members who spoke to Air Force Times last year — said the program is wasteful, and not enjoyed by many of the rank-and-file airmen. The former Tops in Blue members alleged that audiences are often filled by airmen who have been ordered to attend, though other former members who support the program dispute that.
The Air Force's traveling Tops in Blue music troupe will spend more than $1 million in non-appropriated morale, welfare and recreation funds this year -- a $114,000 increase from what it spent in 2014.
The $319,000 in appropriated funds budgeted for the song-and-dance band will be unchanged from last year, according to an Air Force statement. The Air Force said that the nearly 12.6 percent increase in MWR funds is due to a lodging rate increase of $53 to $60.
The 62-year-old Tops in Blue program draws its singers, musicians, dancers and technicians each year from the ranks of ordinary airmen through an audition process at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas. The Air Force has said in statements says where?mh/sl fixed it is a worthwhile program that entertains airmen and their families around the world, and boosts morale.
But many airmen -- including some former Tops in Blue members who spoke to Air Force Times last year -- said the program is wasteful, and not enjoyed by many of the rank-and-file airmen. The former Tops in Blue members alleged that audiences are often filled by airmen who have been ordered to attend, though other former members who support the program dispute that.
The Air Force last year said in a release that Tops in Blue is mainly "funded through nonappropriated funds generated from morale, welfare and recreation activities."
But critics said that MWR money could otherwise help pay for on-base amenities such as movie theaters, swimming pools, libraries and hobby shops that are more popular with airmen and their families, and facing budget crunches of their own.
The amount of MWR funds going to Tops in Blue this year is increasing about 12.6 percent.
While appropriated funding is stable at $319,000, And the status of corporate sponsorships that in years past have helped pad Tops in Blue's budget is unclear this year. In a Tuesday e-mail, the Air Force said the band's 2015 budget included $30,000 from commercial sponsorship.
In a follow-up email, Air Force spokeswoman Deborah Aragon said that number was based on a tentative verbal agreement, and was not final.
"Our team is working to finalize sponsorship agreements and will continue seeking partnerships throughout the Tops in Blue season," Aragon said. "We can't project or speculate on totals at this time or speak on behalf of a company about sponsorship choices."
Last year, Tops in Blue received $170,000 in sponsorships from Dell and Coca-Cola, resulting in a budget of nearly $1.4 million. call both to see if they plan to sponsor this year?mh//sl will follow up
Critics have also said that the Air Force's budgeting doesn't account for the salary costs of airmen who are detailed from their jobs for virtually the entire year.
The 37 members of the 2015 team are who tour from what date to what date? could link to schedule/mh//sl schedule not yet releasedinclude 10 airmen first class, 11 senior airmen, nine staff sergeants, one master sergeant, three second lieutenants, two first lieutenants and a captain. According to their ranks, their salaries cost taxpayers at least another $1 million.
When the Air Force asks airmen for suggestions on how to save money, "Shut down Tops in Blue" is one of the ideas most frequently suggested. But the Air Force always rejects the idea.
The Air Force said last year that after each Tops in Blue show, feedback surveys from base and wing commanders show 96 percent of commanders feel the group is an excellent value to their airmen and to the Air Force. The Air Force also said it believes Tops in Blue is a terrific morale-building, community relations and recruiting tool.
Stephen Losey is the air warfare reporter for Defense News. He previously covered leadership and personnel issues at Air Force Times, and the Pentagon, special operations and air warfare at Military.com. He has traveled to the Middle East to cover U.S. Air Force operations.
