Warrior of the Week: Airman 1st Class Bonnie Shepard

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Derek VanHorn
  • 319th Air Base Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  It is commonly known many people join the military to travel. What's not so common, however, is doing more traveling before you join than most people do in a lifetime. That was exactly the case for Airman 1st Class Bonnie Shepard, 319th Air Base Wing military justice paralegal.

"I have been to 44 out of the 48 continental states in the U.S.," she said. "I love to travel, but have yet to ever leave the states."

Airman Shepard's hopes of seeing the rest of the world will be granted after receiving orders to Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and next on her list is the hope to mix up her career path.

"I would like to become a part of the Air Force nursing program," she said. "I'm currently working on getting all of my pre-requisites out of the way so I can earn my degree and commission."

With an office decorated with growing stacks of court documents, Airman Shepard has no trouble staying busy.

"I mainly work with disciplinary paperwork and actions," she said. "The main things I deal with are Article 15s and courts martial. It is a lot of paperwork, but it is rewarding to see the finish line."

Outside of the office, the Washington state native is currently in a bind when it comes to her favorite activity.

"I love snowboarding," she said. "I miss the mountains, but I am really excited to experience Europe."

You can also be sure to experience new things in the kitchen when it comes to Airman Shepard's other favorite hobby.

"I enjoy cooking and baking all kinds of foods," she said. "I like to experiment, so I'll come up with all sorts of new stuff."

While the health enthusiast might not know what's for dinner, there is always one thing she can count on.

"Everyone here I work with is great," she said. "The people here know the job, and that becomes very helpful because of the demands of this career field. From enlisted Airmen to officers, everyone helps each other out and we gain from each other's perspective."