CPT Derrick Bishop
Performer
Duty Station: Fort Irwin, California
As a military brat, he moved from Japan to North Carolina to Hawaii before settling in South Carolina. He earned a bachelor’s degree in business management at the University of South Carolina and was stationed at Fort Irwin, California, where he won the local 2013 Operation Rising Star military singing contest and advanced to the finals at Joint Base San Antonio-Fort Sam Houston, Texas. His greatest claim to fame, however, is singing “God Bless America” during the seventh-inning stretch of an Atlanta Braves and San Diego Padres baseball game. “I was nervewrecked,” he said. “Not even nervous – the nerves were gone at that point.” Bishop, 27, also sang the national anthem at a Regimental Ball in Las Vegas with Spc. Shikira Berks, a fellow Operation Rising Star competitor at Fort Irwin. “I want to continue working on my vocals and learn how to be a better singer,” he said. Being around people who actually care about what they do, and care about what you do, is priceless. I want to use this opportunity to have fun doing what I love for the Army.
