Warrior of the Week - Erika Warner

  • Published
  • By Airman 1st Class Rachel Waller
  • 319th Air Refueling Wing Public Affairs
GRAND FORKS AIR FORCE BASE, N.D. --  As you walk into the 319th Dental Clinic, you are greeted with a friendly smile and a warm hello.

That friendly smile may belong to Erika Warner, a certified registered dental assistant.

"I have been working here for more than two years now," said Mrs. Warner.

"I saw an advertisement in the Grand Forks Herald for an opening for a dental assistant at Grand Forks AFB," said the Fosston, Minn. native about how she became a Warrior of the North. "At the time, I didn't know what an AFB was so I went online and Googled it. I found out that it meant Air Force Base. I thought it was so cool to be able to work for the military."

Before Mrs. Warner applied for the dental assistant job, she worked for a practice in Park Rapids, Minn. for two years.

Mrs. Warner said she didn't know that she wanted to be a dental assistant until four years ago.

"I got the idea to be a dental assistant during my senior year of high school," said the avid computer gamer. "I never had been to the dentist to get a filling done, so I never knew what a dental assistant was. My friend told me about it and after doing some research, it sounded like something I wanted to do."

The self-proclaimed nerd said it only took two weeks of college to decide that she loved being a dental assistant.

"I love dental assisting so much that I want to do it forever," joked Mrs. Warner.

As a dental assistant here, Mrs. Warner, then known as Erika Granly, met her future husband, Senior Airman Nick Warner, 319th Medical Group.

"I had just started working here when I first met Nick," said the love-struck employee. "I would see him around the building because he worked in preventative health assessment. I had a crush on Nick the whole time before I talked to him. I always hinted at Nick to ask me out but he never did. He finally asked me out after one of my friends told him that I had a crush on him."

"Later, after we were married, I asked Nick why he never asked me out sooner and he told me that he thought I was married when we first met," laughed Mrs. Warner.

Mrs. Warner said she is looking forward to the future because she knows she will be leaving home for the first time in a year.

"My husband has orders to Korea and after that I don't know where I will be," said Mrs. Warner. "I am looking forward to moving but I'll miss my job here."