US Air Force Tour
In April of 2022, I spent three weeks touring U.S. Air Force bases across the country with Netflix magician, Justin Willman. It was a unique privilege to perform for our nation’s military and their families, and I gained a more technical appreciation for what our Air Force does to keep our country safe.
The tour was organized through the USO, the same nonprofit that’s been serving the military since World War II. Thanks to their reach, we were able to perform back-to-back shows for fifteen bases in only 25 days, including Fairchild AFB in Washington, MacDill AFB in Florida, and others.
Photo taken at Malmstrom AFB
Usually, our team travels to our show destination via red-eye flights. This tour was unique in that it made more sense to drive from base to base. We made the most of the opportunity and turned our travel between bases into a road trip, stopping at various state capitals and some iconic landmarks such as Giant Springs State Park and Mount Rushmore.
Photo taken at Mount Rushmore in South Dakota.
It was also fascinating to learn about the aircraft housed at each of these bases. Not many people get to witness in-person the maintenance of a $120,000,000 F-22 fighter jet (it’s just as complicated as you’d think).
The audiences we performed for were mostly families, and they were very grateful to have us there. The military has a tradition of awarding “challenge coins,” or small tokens of recognition, for excellent performance, and our team received several coins from the officers who were at our shows.
Photo of a A-7D Corsair II, an attack aircraft that flew from 1978 to 1980.
In my opinion, magic is a universal language of wonder, amazement, and good times. It transcends your job, rank, or position. It felt right to give back to our nation’s military in my own, small way, and I’d definitely do it again.
