Michelle D. Johnson (born c. 1959) is a retired
lieutenant general
Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...
in the
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...
and former senior vice president and head of referee operations for the
National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
.
Johnson was the 19th
superintendent
Superintendent may refer to:
*Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank
*Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator
*Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
of the
U.S. Air Force Academy, the first woman to lead a
U.S. Department of Defense
The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national secur ...
service academy
A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...
. Her previous position was the Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations and Intelligence,
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe
Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe (SHAPE) is the military headquarters of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization's (NATO) Allied Command Operations (ACO) that commands all NATO operations worldwide. ACO's and SHAPE's commander is t ...
in Casteau, Belgium. She was formerly the Director, Strategy, Policy, Programs and Logistics,
U.S. Transportation Command
The United States Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM) is one of eleven unified combatant commands of the United States Department of Defense. The command is located at Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, and was established in 1987.
The USTRANSCO ...
at
Scott Air Force Base
Scott Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base in St. Clair County, Illinois, near Belleville and O'Fallon, east-southeast of downtown St. Louis. Scott Field was one of thirty-two Air Service training camps established after the ...
. Johnson also served as the deputy director for information and cyberspace policy, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate at the
Pentagon.
As an Air Force Academy cadet, Johnson was the first woman to serve as cadet wing commander (senior ranking cadet), and starred on the
women's basketball team, scoring over 1,700 points.
She was twice named an Academic All-American and was inducted into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame in 2007, making her the first woman from the Academy and one of only six graduates with that distinction. Also, she was selected as the Academy's first woman
Rhodes Scholar in her First Class (senior) Year, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in operations research in 1981.
A
transport
Transport (in British English), or transportation (in American English), is the intentional movement of humans, animals, and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, land ( rail and road), water, cable, pipelin ...
and
tanker pilot, Johnson was recognized as an Honorary Fellow of
Brasenose College
Brasenose College (BNC) is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. It began as Brasenose Hall in the 13th century, before being founded as a college in 1509. The library and chapel were added in the m ...
at
Oxford
Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
in 2013, and received the 2014
American Legion Auxiliary
The American Legion Auxiliary (ALA) is a separate entity from the American Legion that shares the same values. Composed of spouses, mothers, daughters, granddaughters, and sisters of American war veterans. Founded in 1919, the ALA is dedicated t ...
Woman of the Year Award.
Johnson was awarded a star (#42) on The Flag for Hope on June 18, 2016 in recognition of her outstanding military service.
Education and training
* 1977
Spencer, Iowa High School
*1981 Distinguished graduate, Bachelor of Science degree in operations research,
U.S. Air Force Academy,
Colorado Springs, Colorado.
* 1983
Rhodes Scholar, Master of Arts degree in politics and economics,
Brasenose College, Oxford,
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
. At Brasenose College, Johnson studied with
Vernon Bogdanor and
Peter Sinclair who also taught
David Cameron, the former
British Prime Minister
The prime minister of the United Kingdom is the head of government of the United Kingdom. The prime minister advises the sovereign on the exercise of much of the royal prerogative, chairs the Cabinet and selects its ministers. As moder ...
* 1987
Squadron Officer School,
Maxwell Air Force Base,
Alabama
(We dare defend our rights)
, anthem = "Alabama"
, image_map = Alabama in United States.svg
, seat = Montgomery
, LargestCity = Huntsville
, LargestCounty = Baldwin County
, LargestMetro = Greater Birmingham
, area_total_km2 = 135,765 ...
.
* 1991
Air Command and Staff College
The Air Command and Staff College (ACSC) is located at Maxwell Air Force Base in Montgomery, Alabama and is the United States Air Force's intermediate-level Professional Military Education (PME) school. It is a subordinate command of the Air Univ ...
, by correspondence
* 1996
Air War College
The Air War College (AWC) is the senior Professional Military Education (PME) school of the U.S. Air Force. A part of the United States Air Force's Air University, AWC emphasizes the employment of air, space, and cyberspace in joint operation ...
, by correspondence
* 1999 Master of Science degree in national security strategy,
National War College,
Fort Lesley J. McNair
Fort Lesley J. McNair is a United States Army post located on the tip of Greenleaf Point, the peninsula that lies at the confluence of the Potomac River and the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C. To the peninsula's west is the Washington Cha ...
,
Washington, D.C.
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
* 2002 National Security Management Fellow,
Syracuse University, New York
* 2005 Senior Executive Fellows Program,
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
,
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston ...
* 2007 Fellow,
Seminar XXI — Foreign Politics, International Relations and the National Interest,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a private land-grant research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Established in 1861, MIT has played a key role in the development of modern technology and science, and is one of the ...
, Cambridge, Massachusetts
* 2011 Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
* 2013 The Harvard Seminar for New Presidents, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Mass.
Military career
Johnson attended pilot training at
Williams Air Force Base
Williams Air Force Base is a former United States Air Force (USAF) base, located in Maricopa County, Arizona, east of Chandler, and about southeast of Phoenix. It is a designated Superfund site due to a number of soil and groundwater contamin ...
in Arizona from May 1983 to July 1984, and completed her three-month
C-141
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the ...
qualification training at
Altus AFB
Altus Air Force Base (Altus AFB, AAFB) is a United States Air Force base located approximately east-northeast of Altus, Oklahoma.
The host unit at Altus AFB is the 97th Air Mobility Wing (97 AMW), assigned to the Nineteenth Air Force (19 A ...
,
Oklahoma, in October of that year.
Her command assignments included the
9th Air Refueling Squadron
The 9th Air Refueling Squadron is an active United States Air Force unit, stationed at Travis Air Force Base, California, where it operates the McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender as part of the 60th Operations Group.
The squadron was first act ...
, the
97th Operations Group
The 97th Operations Group (97 OG) is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the 97th Air Mobility Wing of Air Education and Training Command . It is stationed at Altus Air Force Base, Oklahoma.
Col. Cornelius Walter "Connie" Cousland served ...
and the
22d Air Refueling Wing
The 22d Air Refueling Wing is a United States Air Force unit assigned to the Air Mobility Command's Eighteenth Air Force. It is stationed at McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas and also functions as the host wing for McConnell.
Its primary missi ...
. She commanded a deployed air refueling squadron in
Operation Southern Watch
Operation Southern Watch was an air-centric military operation conducted by the United States Department of Defense from Summer 1992 to Spring 2003.
United States Central Command's Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTF-SWA) had the mission of mon ...
and an air refueling wing in support of Operations
Noble Eagle
Operation Noble Eagle (ONE) is the United States and Canadian military operation related to homeland security and support to federal, state, and local agencies. The operation began 11 September 2001, in response to the September 11 attacks..
...
,
Enduring Freedom
Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used synonymously by the U.S. government for both the War in Afghanistan (2001–2014) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response to the September 11 at ...
and
Iraqi Freedom
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror
, image ...
. She has served as the Air Force aide to the President, and as an Assistant Professor of Political Science, instructor pilot, and Associate
Air Officer Commanding at the U.S. Air Force Academy.
On August 12, 2013, Johnson assumed command as
Superintendent
Superintendent may refer to:
*Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank
*Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator
*Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...
of the U.S. Air Force Academy, the first woman to hold the position. After 36 years of active duty, she retired from the Air Force in October 2017.
[
A ]command pilot
U.S. Air Force aeronautical ratings are military aviation skill standards established and awarded by the United States Air Force for commissioned officers participating in "regular and frequent flight",The standard by which flight status has bee ...
, Johnson has more than 3,600 flying hours in C-141
The Lockheed C-141 Starlifter is a retired military strategic airlifter that served with the Military Air Transport Service (MATS), its successor organization the Military Airlift Command (MAC), and finally the Air Mobility Command (AMC) of the ...
, T-41, KC-10
The McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender is an American aerial refueling tanker aircraft operated by the United States Air Force (USAF). A military version of the three-engine DC-10 airliner, the KC-10 was developed from the Advanced Tanker Cargo A ...
, C-17, C-5, KC-135
The Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker is an American military aerial refueling aircraft that was developed from the Boeing 367-80 prototype, alongside the Boeing 707 airliner. It is the predominant variant of the C-135 Stratolifter family of transpo ...
, T-37, and T-38 aircraft.
NBA
Following her retirement from the Air Force in 2017, Johnson was appointed as senior vice president and head of referee operations for the National Basketball Association
The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United St ...
(NBA) on October 12. She assumed her new position on October 16 and stepped down two years later. Her duties included overseeing the recruitment, training, development, and evaluation of NBA referees, as well as the NBA replay center.
Promotion history
References
External links
Official USAF biography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Michelle D.
United States Air Force Academy alumni
Recipients of the Legion of Merit
Female generals of the United States Air Force
Year of birth missing (living people)
Syracuse University alumni
Harvard University alumni
Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford
Living people
American Rhodes Scholars
Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal
Superintendents of the United States Air Force Academy
NBA league office executives
Women heads of universities and colleges
Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)
21st-century American women
Iowa Women's Hall of Fame Inductees