Jay Lynn Johnson (born June 5, 1946) is a retired

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

admiral who served as the 26th

Chief of Naval Operations The chief of naval operations (CNO) is the highest-ranking officer of the United States Navy. The position is a statutory office () held by an Admiral (United States), admiral who is a military adviser and deputy to the United States Secretary ...

from 1996 to 2000. He was later president and chief executive officer of

General Dynamics General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales and fifth largest in the Unit ...

Early life

Johnson was born in

Great Falls, Montana Great Falls is the List of cities and towns in Montana, third most populous city in the U.S. state of Montana and the county seat of Cascade County, Montana, Cascade County. The population was 60,442 according to the 2020 United States census, 2 ...

, on June 5, 1946, and raised in

West Salem, Wisconsin West Salem is a village in La Crosse County, Wisconsin, United States, along the La Crosse River. It is part of the La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,277 as of the 2020 census. History West Salem w ...

. An

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of Scouting America. Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle Scout rank has been earned by over ...

and later recipient of the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout who has achieved extraordinary national-level recognition, fame, or eminence within their profession ...

, he graduated in 1968 from the

United States Naval Academy The United States Naval Academy (USNA, Navy, or Annapolis) is a United States Service academies, federal service academy in Annapolis, Maryland. It was established on 10 October 1845 during the tenure of George Bancroft as United States Secre ...

. His Naval Academy classmates included Admirals

Michael Mullen Michael Glenn Mullen (born 4 October 1946) is a retired United States Navy Admiral (United States), admiral who served as the 17th chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff from October 2007 to September 2011. Mullen was the 32nd vice chief of Nav ...

and

Dennis C. Blair Dennis Cutler Blair (born February 4, 1947) is the former United States Director of National Intelligence and a retired United States Navy admiral who was the commander of U.S. forces in the Pacific region., Aspen Security Forum, 2013 Blair wa ...

, Generals

Charles Bolden Charles Frank Bolden Jr. (born August 19, 1946) is a former Administrator of NASA, a retired United States Marine Corps Major General, and a former astronaut who flew on four Space Shuttle missions. He graduated from the United States Naval ...

and

Michael Hagee Michael William Hagee (born December 1, 1944) is a retired United States Marine Corps four-star general who served as the 33rd Commandant of the Marine Corps from 2003 to 2006, succeeding General James L. Jones on January 13, 2003. He stepped ...

; as well as Lt. Col

Oliver North Oliver Laurence North (born October 7, 1943) is an American political commentator, television host, military historian, author, and retired United States Marine Corps lieutenant colonel. A veteran of the Vietnam War, North was a National Sec ...

and Senator

Jim Webb James Henry Webb Jr. (born February 9, 1946) is an American politician and author. He has served as a United States senator from Virginia, Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Counsel for the United States ...

. Upon completion of flight training, Johnson was designated a

Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

in 1969.

Naval career

Johnson's first sea-duty tour was aboard the carrier , where he made two combat cruises flying the F-8J Crusader with Fighter Squadron 191 (

VF-191 Fighter Squadron 191 (VF-191) was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. It was established in 1943 and disestablished in 1978. The squadron was nicknamed ''Satan's Kittens''. A second VF-191 (1986-8), VF-191, bearing the same designation a ...

). Subsequent squadron and sea duty tours after transitioning to the

F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, tandem two-seat, twin-tail, all-weather-capable variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...

included:

VF-142 VF-142 ''Ghostriders'' was a US Navy fighter squadron established on 24 August 1948 as VF-193, it was redesignated VF-142 on 15 October 1963, and disestablished on 30 April 1995. History Late 1940s to the 1970s Fighter Squadron 193 (VF-193) ...

VF-101 Strike Fighter Squadron 101 (VFA-101), also known as the "Grim Reapers", was a United States Navy Fleet Replacement Squadron (FRS) based at Eglin AFB, Florida. After the West Coast FRS for the F-14 Tomcat, VF-124, was disestablished in the mid-1 ...

, commanding officer of

VF-84 (1955–1995) VF-84, Fighter Squadron 84 was an aviation unit of the United States Navy. Originally established as VA-86 on 1 July 1955, it was immediately redesignated as VF-84 and was disestablished on 1 October 1995. It was the third US Navy squadron to be ...

; commander,

Carrier Air Wing One Carrier Air Wing One (CVW-1) is a United States Navy aircraft carrier air wing based at Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia, with most of its various squadrons also home based at NAS Oceana. Additional squadrons are based at Naval Station Norfolk ...

and assistant chief of staff for operations for 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 and Africa. The Sixth Fleet is headquartered at Naval Support Activity Naples, Italy. The officially stated mission of the Sixt ...

. Shore duty assignments included: aviation junior officer detailer and head, Aviation Officer Junior Assignment Branch at the

Bureau of Naval Personnel The Bureau of Naval Personnel (BUPERS) in the United States Department of the Navy is similar to the human resources department of a corporation. The bureau provides administrative leadership and policy planning for the Office of the Chief of N ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

; student,

Armed Forces Staff College The Joint Forces Staff College (JFSC), located in Norfolk, Virginia, was established as the Armed Forces Staff College in 1946 and incorporated into the National Defense University in August 1981. It educates and acculturates joint and multinat ...

, in Norfolk, Virginia; and the Chief of Naval Operations Strategic Studies Group at

The Pentagon The Pentagon is the headquarters building of the United States Department of Defense, in Arlington County, Virginia, across the Potomac River from Washington, D.C. The building was constructed on an accelerated schedule during World War II. As ...

. Johnson's first

flag officer A flag officer is a commissioned officer in a nation's armed forces senior enough to be entitled to fly a flag to mark the position from which that officer exercises command. Different countries use the term "flag officer" in different ways: * ...

assignment was as assistant chief of naval personnel for distribution in the

. In October 1992, he reported as commander, Carrier Group 8/Commander, Battle Group. In July 1994, he was assigned as commander, Second Fleet/Commander, Striking Fleet Atlantic/Commander, Joint Task Force 120. In March 1996, he reported for duty as the 28th

Vice Chief of Naval Operations The vice chief of naval operations (VCNO) is the second highest-ranking commissioned United States Navy officer and functions as the principal deputy of the Chief of Naval Operations, chief of naval operations. By statute, the vice chief is appo ...

in Washington, D.C. In August 1996, Johnson became the 26th

following the death of Admiral Jeremy M. Boorda, and served until July 21, 2000.

Later career

Johnson was executive vice president of

Dominion Resources Dominion Energy, Inc., commonly referred to as Dominion, is an American energy company headquartered in Richmond, Virginia that supplies electricity in parts of Virginia, North Carolina, and South Carolina and supplies natural gas to parts of Ut ...

, Inc., from December 2002 to September 2008, also serving as senior vice president of Dominion Energy, Inc., from 2000 to 2002; president and chief executive officer of Dominion Delivery from 2002 to 2007; and chief executive officer of Dominion Virginia Power from October 2007 to September 2008. Johnson has been a director of

, one of the largest U.S.

defense contractor A defense contractor is a business organization or individual that provides products or services to a military or intelligence department of a government. Products typically include military or civilian aircraft, ships, vehicles, weaponry, and ...

s, since 2003. He served as vice chairman from September 2008 to July 2009, and president and

Chief Executive Officer A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

from then until January 2013, when he was succeeded by Phebe Novakovic.

Awards and decorations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jay L. 1946 births Living people United States Naval Aviators People from Great Falls, Montana Aviators from Montana Military personnel from Montana United States Naval Academy alumni United States Navy admirals Chiefs of Naval Operations Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Recipients of the Legion of Merit American recipients of the Gallantry Cross (Vietnam) Vice chiefs of Naval Operations People from West Salem, Wisconsin Recipients of the Navy Distinguished Service Medal Military personnel from Wisconsin