The Foothills Focus, in partnership with the Anthem Veterans Memorial, will honor a local veteran each month. This is the story of Aaron Johnson.
Aaron Johnson had not planned to join the Navy growing up. His father and uncles served in the military, but the family ties were not an influence.
He excelled academically as an applied physics major at UC Davis.
“Like all freshmen, the college experience was new and inspiring; we felt this chapter in our lives was the beginning to an exciting career,” Johnson said.
“Out of blue at the end of my first year, I received a letter from the U.S. Navy. It was a one-page pitch letter, which I glanced over, crumpled and threw out. I had no intention of joining the military.
“However, at the end of my sophomore year, I had an existential crisis about what exactly I was going to do with a physics degree. Serendipitously, I received a second letter from the Navy. This time I called the number.”
The Naval Nuclear Propulsion Officer Candidate Program targeted students from strong colleges majoring in hard sciences with high-grade point averages.
“The Navy verified my academic and intellectual readiness in advance of flying me to D.C. for a battery of intense interviews,” Johnson said. “These were with the designers of the reactor plants. The final interview was with Adm. DeMars.”
DeMars served a distinguished 44 years in the Navy. Prior to his retirement he was, for eight years, the Naval Nuclear Propulsion director.
The program included 176 reactor plants on over 150 ships and submarines, eight land-based research and training reactors, eight nuclear qualified shipyards, two Department of Energy laboratories and an extensive commercial supplier base. He directed the transition of this enterprise to the post-Cold War period.
“I guess I passed because, at the end of the interviews, I raised my right hand and was enlisted into the U.S. Navy,” Johnson said.
“I received a signing bonus and monthly pay for the next two years. All I had to do was graduate on time and maintain a 3.3 GPA. This allowed me to exit college debt free. After I graduated from UC Davis, I was able to enjoy a brief summer before paying the piper at Officer Candidate School (OCS). This is where I received my commission as an officer.”
After OCS, he attended Naval Nuclear Power School, which taught him the theory and practical application of nuclear physics and reactor engineering.
According to the Navy, the “six-month course provides a comprehensive understanding of a pressurized-water naval nuclear power plant, including reactor core nuclear principles, heat transfer and fluid systems, plant chemistry, mechanical and electrical systems and radiological control.”
From Naval Nuclear Power School, he headed to Charleston for Nuclear Prototype School where he simulated plant operations on a nuclear submarine moored in the Cooper River. Finally, he was then sent to Newport, Rhode Island, for Service Warfare Officer School.
Described as a “Center of Excellence” for surface warfare training for officers and enlisted sailors who man and fight on Naval ships, this program serves as the “keepers of the essence of the Navy and the maintainers of freedom throughout the world.”
“I then received orders to the USS George Washington (CVN-73) stationed in Norfolk, Virginia,” he said. “They were to fly my classmate and me to Florida to board the ship — or so we thought.
“We arrived at the ready room and were handed helmets and life vests. We boarded a C2 plane, seated with our backs to the pilots. The gear seemed a little overkill. We were just going to Florida; it must be the Navy way.
“After a few hours, the pilot tells us to, ‘hang on.’ We both looked at each other, confident we were able to handle a plane landing. But, little did we know, we were over water about to land on the carrier. We were surprised at a hard bank and dive… this was no longer the friendly skies.
“The ship was cruising at 30 knots, the arresting wire jolted us to an immediate stop, and I see an F-18 landing right behind us, like seconds away. Clearly, we missed the memo of our carrier landing. Welcome aboard!”
A nuclear-powered aircraft carrier, the USS George Washington, sixth in the Nimitz class and the fourth U.S. Navy ship named after George Washington, holds 90 aircraft with a flight deck of 4.5 acres and 6,250 crewmembers, serving 18,000 meals a day. The carrier is powered by two nuclear reactors and can travel 3 million nautical miles before needing refueling.
Johnson was assigned as the population plant watch officer where he oversaw 40 watch standers, the reactor and its associated steam plant. He was also the division officer for the reactor machinery and reactor training departments.
He was the first officer to be qualified as the engineering officer of the watch (responsible for both reactor plants, all plant engineering and coordination with the bridge) and officer of the deck.
Johnson was one of six qualified officers of the deck of the 6,200 crewmembers. The officer of the deck is the direct representative of the ship’s commanding officer and responsible for the ship. At sea, the officer of the deck is stationed on the bridge and in charge of navigation and safety of the ship, unless relieved by the captain or senior qualified line officer.
The officer of the deck informs the tactical situations and geographic factors affecting navigation; issues necessary orders to the help and main engine control; ensures reports for tests and inspections are made; is informed of the engineering and power of the ship; supervises training operations and ensures the flight decks are operational, among a slew of other duties.
Johnson’s first deployment started in May 1994. After anchoring near England for the 50th anniversary commemoration of the D-Day landings in Normandy followed by a brief visit to Brest, France, the Washington entered the Mediterranean Sea to relieve the USS Saratoga. The initial mission was in the Adriatic to support NATO by ensuring no-fly zones over Bosnia.
“In August 1994, I was flipping channels between CNN and the Captain’s Call, where the entire crew listens to the captain talk with the ability to ask him questions,” Johnson said.
“Iraq was making news, and activity in the gulf was building. One of the crew asked if we were going to the Persian (Arabian) Gulf. The captain told us we were not, but about 2 minutes later he hastily excused himself. Forty-five minutes later, we were steaming out of the Adriatic toward the Suez Canal on our way to the gulf to participate in Operation Vigilant Warrior, in response to Iraqi aggression.
“The Suez Canal is always memorable. Given the ship’s size, it looks as if you are sailing through the desert as you cannot see water on either side while standing on the flight deck. Two caravans of ships transit each day. One travels north from the Red Sea and the other south from the Mediterranean. The caravans meet in the middle in the Great Bitter Lake. One caravan anchors to the side and lets the other pass before continuing.”
During the transiting, they barbecued and relaxed. Johnson participated in Running the Ditch, relay races around the flight deck to see which team completes the most laps during the transit.
“My favorite times on the ship were as conning officer during flight operations and the canal transit,” he said.
“This conning officer gives the commands to drive the ship. The canal transit is precarious. The ship has to move fast enough to maintain steering control, but not too fast as the low-pressure areas pull the ship over to the side. Constant minor course and speed corrections are required for safe passage. It is nerve wracking, exciting and rewarding.
“Conning during flight operations was my absolute favorite job on the ship. Not only did I have a front-row seat to flight operations, I got to drive the ship like a race car at times. Each plane type, F-14, F-18, EA6, etc., has a required wind envelope for safe launch and recovery. Depending on the winds, the ship’s speed and direction are modified to achieve each plane’s envelope. We also must stay in our navigation box, so if we are at 30 knots screaming to the end of the box, as soon as we launched or recovered the last plane, I needed to turn the carrier as fast as possible while not throwing planes off the deck or exiting the box. It was exhilarating.”
Johnson’s great uncle told stories of his hand-to-hand combat training and being dropped behind enemy lines in late WWII. That experience, while different than Johnson’s, was indicative of the Navy’s vast training and applications.
“We all had specialized training,” Johnson said. “We all had unique experiences, but we all had eye-opening journeys, met great people, grew up, saw the world and left better men for it.
“I never in my wildest dreams could have imagined my applied physics degree would have turned into such an amazing opportunity. I left my commission in November 1996 and went to work in the aerospace industry. The Navy taught me leadership and responsibility, which I attribute to my success in aerospace manufacturing. I was able to semi-retire at age 48. The Navy was an instrumental start and component of making that possible. It was an honor to serve my country.”
Join Aaron Johnson at the Veterans Day ceremony at the Anthem Veterans Memorial as he introduces the 100th birthday tribute of the Naval aircraft carrier. A pre-ceremony patriotic music concert begins at 9:30 a.m. and the ceremony follows at 10 a.m. For more information, visit onlineatanthem.com/visitors/veterans_memorial/index.php