John D. Johnson

John D. Johnson is a United States Army Lieutenant General. He was commissioned in the infantry upon graduation from the Virginia Military Institute in 1977.

Military career
Lieutenant General John D. Johnson is Director, Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization. He is responsible for leading the Defense Department’s actions to rapidly provide counter-IED capabilities in support of combatant commanders, military services and other federal agencies to enable the defeat of the IED as a weapon of strategic influence.

Lieutenant General Johnson grew up in Texas and Oklahoma and was commissioned as an infantry second lieutenant upon graduation from the Virginia Military Institute in 1977. He has served in numerous command, staff and teaching assignments throughout the world, including Germany, Iraq and Korea.

As a company grade officer, he was an infantry platoon leader, scout platoon leader and company commander with the 1st Battalion, 30th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Infantry Division in Schweinfurt, Germany. He then served as a small group tactics instructor at the U.S. Army Infantry School at Fort Benning, Ga., followed by tenure as an observer/controller at the Army's National Training Center, Fort Irwin, Calif. His next operational assignment was as the division war plans officer for the 8th Infantry Division, Bad Kreuznach, Germany. He later served as a brigade operations officer in the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division and as the executive officer for the 4th Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, in Baumholder, Germany.

Lieutenant General Johnson next commanded the 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, 24th Infantry Division (later re-designated as the 3rd Infantry Division) at Fort Stewart, Ga. He remained at Fort Stewart to serve as the division inspector general and as the division operations officer. As the operations officer, he deployed with the division to the Middle East during Operation Desert Thunder. He then returned to Germany to serve as the V Corps operations officer in Heidelberg and commander of the 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Armored Division in Baumholder. In 2003, he deployed the brigade in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. On his return from Iraq, he served two tours at the Pentagon. The first was as the chief of the Strategy Division in the Deputy Directorate for the Global War on Terrorism on the Joint Staff. In the second tour, he served on the Army Staff as the Deputy Director for Strategy, Plans and Policy.

As a brigadier general in 2006, he was assigned as the assistant division commander for maneuver of the 2nd Infantry Division in Korea. Upon returning from Korea, he assumed the position of deputy commanding general for the Army’s Family and Morale, Welfare and Recreation Command. He later became the deputy commanding general (operations) for I Corps and Fort Lewis, Wash. He deployed in that role with the corps as the Headquarters for Multi-National Corps – Iraq. He returned to Joint Base Lewis-McChord where he served as the acting commanding general of I Corps and Joint Base Lewis-McChord. Prior to his current assignment, 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.

Lieutenant General Johnson holds a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College, two master’s degrees from the Army Command and General Staff College and a bachelor’s degree in history from the Virginia Military Institute.