THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Friday, May 17, 1996 TAG: 9605170492
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY TONY WHARTON, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
Adm. Jay L. Johnson, who will at least temporarily take over the duties of chief of naval operations after the death of Adm. Jeremy ``Mike'' Boorda, is a Vietnam veteran and former F-14 fighter pilot with strong ties to Hampton Roads.
Just over three months ago, Johnson was promoted from command of the Norfolk-based 2nd Fleet, a post he had held for 18 months, to become vice chief of naval operations under Boorda.
Under Navy rules, the vice chief of operations performs the duties of the chief of operations until a successor is appointed. The chief of naval operations is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate.
President Clinton nominated Johnson, 48, to the No. 2 spot in the Navy in part because his background as a flier complemented Boorda's career on ships.
Johnson graduated from the Naval Academy in 1968 and flew F-8J Crusaders during two combat tours in Vietnam. He then began flying F-14 Tomcats and rose to command the Jolly Rogers of Fighter Squadron 84 at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach.
In 1985, Johnson took over Air Wing One aboard the carrier America and then was assistant chief of staff for operations with the 6th Fleet until June 1987. In February 1988 he returned to Air Wing One as a senior air wing commander. After tours at the Naval War College and the Bureau of Naval Personnel as assistant chief, he commanded Carrier Group Eight aboard the carrier Theodore Roosevelt.
While Johnson was in command, the Roosevelt took part in Operation Deny Flight, the effort to keep Serbian airplanes grounded in Bosnia in 1993.
He came to Norfolk in July 1994 to take command of the 2nd Fleet from Adm. William J. Flanagan, just as the operation began to return the exiled Haitian president, Jean-Bertrand Aristide, to power.
Last month, Boorda took advantage of Johnson's familiarity with the F-14 as the Navy tried to come to grips with a string of crashes. Boorda directed Johnson to screen all future reports on fliers by the field naval aviator evaluation board and to review reports made in the past three years for pilots in Carrier Air Wing 11.
Tailhook, the Navy's worst scandal in recent years, apparently did not affect Johnson's career, although he was present at the notorious 1991 Tailhook convention in Las Vegas. Johnson was one of 35 officers interviewed afterward, but investigators found nothing to warrant action against Johnson.
Johnson's only daughter, Cullen, was Miss Virginia in 1994 and chosen first runner-up in the Miss America pageant. During her pageant interview, she said, ``I've moved 22 times in 22 years.'' ILLUSTRATION: Photo
Johnson commanded the Norfolk-based 2nd Fleet and led the
Oceana-based Jolly Rogers of Fighter Squadron 84 at Oceana.
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