[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 111 (Thursday, July 16, 2015)]
[Senate]
[Pages S5168-S5169]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             RECOGNIZING LIEUTENANT GENERAL JOHN D. JOHNSON

 Mr. INHOFE. Mr. President, I wish to recognize the service of 
LTG John D. Johnson, the director of the Department of Defense's newest 
combat support agency, the Joint Improvised-Threat Defeat Agency, JIDA, 
who will retire on September 1, 2015, after 38 years of active service.
  Lieutenant General Johnson honorably served his country for more than

[[Page S5169]]

three decades. After graduating from the Virginia Military Institute in 
1977 as an infantry officer, he commanded troops at every level and is 
a veteran of multiple deployments to Iraq. As a young officer, he 
served in Germany, Georgia, California, and the Pentagon. He attained 
the rank of brigadier general in 2006 and was assigned as the assistant 
division commander for maneuver of the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea. 
Upon returning, he was assigned to the U.S. Army Installation 
Management Command. From there, he became the deputy commanding 
general, operations, for I Corps and Fort Lewis, WA. He deployed to 
Iraq serving in that role to the Headquarters for Multi-National 
Corps--Iraq, where he learned first-hand the atrocities inflicted by 
improvised explosive devices, foreshadowing his rise to his final 
position. In his penultimate position, he was the commanding general, 
Eighth U.S. Army; and Chief of Staff for United Nations Command, 
Combined Forces Command, and U.S. Forces Korea, preserving readiness 
for coalition forces across the Korean Peninsula.
  As the director of JIDA, Lieutenant General Johnson set the 
conditions for the Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat 
Organization, JIEDDO, to become JIDA, a permanent defense agency that 
will enhance our Nation's capabilities to fight improvised weapons and 
those who employ them. He has fostered countless cooperative 
relationships with government agencies, coalition partners, academia, 
and industry supporters in an effort to find innovative solutions to 
these pervasive improvised threats. During this challenging transition 
period for JIEDDO, he led an extensive effort to right-size the 
workforce and streamline processes while still bestowing a high level 
of support to the warfighter.
  I had the pleasure of personally working with Lieutenant General 
Johnson during his tenure at JIEDDO. He is an inspiring leader, an 
admirable mentor, and a fine example for his fellow servicemembers. I 
am proud to share in the celebration of Lieutenant General Johnson's 
career, his extraordinary leadership, his distinguished military 
service and his unwavering dedication to this great Nation. I wish him, 
his wife Cheryl, and their daughter Elizabeth all the best in their 
future endeavors.

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