Admiral Gregory Gordon Johnson (born July 11, 1946) is a retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

admiral and former commander of

United States Naval Forces Europe United States Naval Forces Europe-Africa (CNE-CNA), is the United States Navy component command of the United States European Command and United States Africa Command. Prior to 2020, CNE-CNA was previously referred to as United States Naval Forces ...

and Allied Forces Southern Europe.

Naval career

Johnson is from Westmanland, Maine. He attended Caribou High School, graduating in 1964. Johnson received a Bachelor of Arts degree in political science from the

University of Maine The University of Maine (UMaine or UMO) is a public land-grant research university in Orono, Maine. It was established in 1865 as the land-grant college of Maine and is the flagship university of the University of Maine System. It is classifie ...

. Following Aviation Officer Candidate School, he was commissioned in 1969 and designated a Naval Aviator in 1970. Johnson's initial sea duty assignment was in VA-66 flying the

A-7E Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

and deploying in USS ''Nimitz''. Subsequent squadron and sea duty assignments include

VFA-86 Strike Fighter Squadron 86 (VFA-86) is a strike fighter squadron of the United States Navy based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. The squadron is nicknamed ''Sidewinders'', leading to the call sign ''Winder''. The unit currently flies th ...

on ; VA-174; executive officer and commanding officer of VA-105 (

Marine Aircraft Group 12 Marine Aircraft Group 12 (MAG-12) is an active air group of the United States Marine Corps, tasked with providing fighter and assault support aircraft. It is currently part of the 1st Marine Aircraft Wing (1st MAW), itself an integral part of th ...

1st Marine Aircraft Wing The 1st Marine Aircraft Wing is an aviation unit of the United States Marine Corps that serves as the Aviation Combat Element of the III Marine Expeditionary Force. The wing is headquartered at Camp Foster on the island of Okinawa, Japan. A ...

); deputy commander, Carrier Air Wing Six on USS ''Forrestal''; and commander,

Carrier Air Wing Three Carrier Air Wing Three (CVW-3), known as the "Battle Axe", is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia. The wing was created on 1 July 1938 and has seen service in World War II, the Korean War, th ...

on . Shore duty assignments include the Command and Staff Course,

Naval War College The Naval War College (NWC or NAVWARCOL) is the staff college and "Home of Thought" for the United States Navy at Naval Station Newport in Newport, Rhode Island. The NWC educates and develops leaders, supports defining the future Navy and associ ...

(graduating with highest distinction); Systems Analysis Division (OP-96) of the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations; F/A-18/A-7 readiness officer on the staff Commander Naval Air Force,

United States Atlantic Fleet United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...

; Joint Chiefs of Staff as head of the European Command/Central Command Branch of the Joint Operations Division (JOD), Operations Directorate (J-3); and Office of the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff as the executive assistant to the chairman. Johnson was selected for flag rank in February 1995. His first flag assignment was as the director of operations, plans, and policy (N3/N5) on the Commander in Chief, United States Atlantic Fleet staff. In February 1996, he reported as commander, Carrier Group Eight/ Battle Group, where he served until August 1997. In September 1997 he reported as the senior military assistant to the

Deputy Secretary of Defense The deputy secretary of defense (acronym: DepSecDef) is a statutory office () and the second-highest-ranking official in the Department of Defense of the United States of America. The deputy secretary is the principal civilian deputy to the sec ...

. In May 1999, Johnson assumed duties as the senior military assistant to the Secretary of Defense. His previous assignment was commander,

United States Sixth Fleet The Sixth Fleet is a numbered fleet of the United States Navy operating as part of United States Naval Forces Europe. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixth Fleet in ...

and

Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO (STRIKFORNATO) is the principal naval service command of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO), replacing Naval Striking and Support Forces Southern Europe (STRIKFORS ...

. Johnson assumed duties as commander,

and commander in chief, Allied Forces Southern Europe on October 24, 2001. He retired from the navy in December 2004.

Awards and decorations

In 2003, he was awarded the

Naval War College Distinguished Graduate Leadership Award The Naval War College Distinguished Graduate leadership Award was established in 1996 by the Trustees of the Naval War College Foundation to honor United States Naval War College graduates who have attained positions of prominence in the field of n ...

Post military

After retiring from the navy, Johnson settled in

Harpswell, Maine Harpswell is a town in Cumberland County, Maine, United States, within Casco Bay in the Gulf of Maine. The population was 5,031 at the 2020 census. Harpswell is composed of land contiguous with the rest of Cumberland County, called Harpswell ...

. He started Snow Ridge Associates, a consulting firm. He is also a member of the Energy Security Leadership Council, and sits on the board of directors of Integrian, a surveillance technology company. He is also an outside director of CACI International, and he sits on the board of directors of the Maine Port Authority. Johnson serves as a co-leader of the National Security Project (NSP) at the

Bipartisan Policy Center The Bipartisan Policy Center (BPC) is a Washington, D.C.–based think tank that promotes bipartisanship. The organization aims to combine ideas from both the Republican and Democratic parties to address challenges in the U.S. BPC focuses on is ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Gregory G. 1946 births Living people People from Aroostook County, Maine University of Maine alumni United States Naval Aviators Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy admirals Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal People from Harpswell, Maine