BARNES AIR NATIONAL GUARD BASE, Massachusetts -- Senior Airman Julianne Sharon, an intelligence analyst with the 104th Operations Group. Sharon enlisted with the 104OG in December 2016 during her junior year at Westfield State University.
“I always had the thought of joining the service, but I did not think I was capable of it,” said Sharon. “I live locally and have always heard the planes, and the first time I visited I knew this was a place I wanted to be. Everyone I talked to encouraged me and I knew I would regret not joining.”
Since returning from her training, Sharon had the opportunity to travel to Romania for three months. After returning from Romania Sharon returned to Westfield State University and she graduated with her Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice with a minor in finance in January, 2019.
Sharon is now a full time intelligence analyst with the 104OG.
“I like how challenging intelligence is and the range of information I get to learn and understand so I can teach others what is going on around the world,” said Sharon.
The intelligence analyst career field covers a wide range of responsibilities.
“Our major responsibility here is to provide our pilots with data on adversarial capabilities, tactics, and training, so that they are prepared for the next mission,” said Sharon.
Sharon interacts with pilots and high ranking officers, keeping them informed with the latest intelligence available on a daily basis.
“There are three major tasks in our job; giving daily threat briefings to the pilots, giving the wing commander current intelligence briefings, and debriefing pilots after missions then creating a report and sending that to higher headquarters,” said Sharon.
When Sharon is not on base she is active in the community.
“I love sports,” said Sharon. “I was a three season athlete in high school, and I currently participate in community leagues for soccer, basketball, and flag football.”
Sharon is already looking forward to the future and has ambitious aspirations.
“My goal is to either commission here, or go to the enlisted weapons school and get my Master’s degree in intelligence,” said Sharon.