Air Force recruiters take part in CMT Hot 20 Holiday Salute Published Dec. 10, 2020 By Master Sgt. Chance Babin Air Force Recruiting Service Public Affairs JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-RANDOLPH, Texas – A couple of Air Force recruiters will be on national television as part of the Country Music Television Hot 20 Holiday Salute program Dec. 12-13, 2020. The show featured Cody Allen as the host and singer Lee Brice with several surprise guests. Two recruiters and a host of other service members were featured on television screens via Zoom behind the entertainers. “It was really an awesome thing to experience. Not only were we featured on the show that is a yearly tradition for CMT honoring the troops across the world, but we got to watch all the behind-the-scenes stuff,” said Tech. Sgt. Dexter Tapley, 361st Recruiting Squadron enlisted accessions recruiter in Fairbanks, Alaska. “We got to see Cody Allen go from joking at one moment to serious in a matter of seconds when it came time to record. The biggest highlight for me was watching Lee Brice play ‘I Drive Your Truck’. That song has helped me through some tough times when my brother was deployed.” “This was an awesome opportunity to see the behind-the-scenes production of a show and how much work it is to piece everything together,” said Master Sgt. Jonathan Rice, a recruiter at Kadena Air Base, Japan. “The biggest highlight was when I came home that day and my 7-year old son asked me, ‘So you were on TV today?’ I said yes sir, he smiled and said ‘so you’re famous now?’” Tapley said he had no idea he was nominated to be on the show and was confused when he started getting emails. “I got nominated for this opportunity to be on CMT,” Tapley said. “When I first started getting emails, I had no idea what was going on. After I got the email from public affairs saying I was the one selected to be on CMT, I was excited and started counting down the days.” The show was pre-recorded Dec. 7, 2020, and Tapley had to be set up and ready for the video teleconference at 10:30 in the morning. Rice had an even earlier call being in Japan. He had to be ready to roll at 4:30 in the morning. “I used my personal laptop for the Zoom call,” he said. “My wife and I just sat in chairs at my desk with all my awards from over the years in the background.” It helped with Tapley’s excitement that he was a fan of the artists on the show and loves country music. “I enjoyed watching Lee Brice play and I also enjoyed when Blake Shelton and Brantley Gilbert came online as the special guests,” Tapley said. “We got to see Brantley Gilbert’s man cave. It was awesome.” Rice is from Oklahoma, so he was pleased with so many artists on the show coming from his home state. “Being from Oklahoma, country music has always been a big part of my life,” Rice said. “The coolest part is some of my favorite artists who are from Oklahoma came on the show.” While the CMT Hot 20 Holiday Salute is normally done in person with the troops, Tapley and Rice were glad they continued the tradition with a few modifications due to the pandemic. “It was a very unique experience and I am glad I was able to share that experience with my wife, Elizabeth. Every year CMT does a tribute to the troops around the holidays,” Tapley said. “Typically they go to certain places and get to record with troops, however with COVID that was not possible this year. I am stoked they carried on the tradition and got creative to still honor the troops at home stations and abroad.” For Rice it was an honor to represent the Air Force and recruiting and he felt appreciated by the host and performers throughout the show. “It’s always a pleasure to represent AFRS (Air Force Recruiting Service), but to do it on a nationally televised platform is a very humbling experience. This CMT Top 20 Countdown episode was focused on ‘Salute to the Troops’ and had live feeds of many military troops across the world,” Rice said. “Even when the cameras weren’t rolling, the host Cody Alan and performer Lee Brice kept thanking all of us for our service and they can’t wait till they can get back to travelling across the world to perform for us again.” Tapley still doesn’t know who nominated him to be on the show, but he is thankful for the opportunity. “I would like to thank my leadership or whomever it was that nominated me for the experience,” he said. “It will be a memory that will be cherished forever. A great start to the holidays of 2020.”