Warrior of the Week: Airman 1st Class Joann Oledan

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Rachel Waller
  • 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  Inside a secured vault, surrounded by M-16s there is a lone Airman, armed and in charge of maintaining the security of more than 1,700 weapons.

Airman 1st Class Joann Oledan, 319th Logistics Readiness Squadron material management apprentice, has been maintaining the Grand Forks Air Force Base's weapons supply since her arrival in January.

The Guam native was not pleased when she arrived here in the middle of the winter.

"It was the first time I saw snow and it was horrible," said Airman Oledan. "I kept thinking I was going to get sick but I didn't. To make matters worse, I didn't have a car at the time. I do now but I am still not looking forward to the winter."

The 18-year-old said she joined the Air Force to get out of Guam.

"I joined the Air Force because life was hard in Guam," said Airman Oledan. "I was working for minimum wage and trying to balance work plus school at the same time was hard. After graduating high school, I knew I had to get out and I needed money for college. So I joined the Air Force."

After being active duty for a little over a year now, Airman Oledan is happy with her decision to join and is looking forward to continuing her education.

"I recently just started taking online classes," said Airman Oledan. "My goal is to earn a doctorate degree. I don't know what I want the doctorate in yet. I just want to see my name on my degree saying Dr. Oledan."

When she isn't busy doing homework or studying, Airman Oledan said she likes to hang out with her friends and go out to eat.