U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Michael W. Johnson, 43, is from Houston and has spent the last 23 years of his life in service to his country.
Johnson works as the Senior Enlisted Advisor to a Brigadier General, Deputy Chief of Staff, Communications. He graduated from Ross Shaw Sterling High School in Southeast Houston in 1992, where his parents, aunts, uncles and grandparents still live.
U.S. Air Force Master Sergeant Michael W. Johnson
Growing up, however, Johnson experienced several challenges that almost derailed his future and storied military career.
Johnson grew up throughout Third Ward, and was raised by his single-parent mother until the age of 7. Because he had no idea what stability looked like, as he bounced from place to place with his mom, the village (as the old saying goes) ended up raising him as well.
“We moved wherever my mother could get us to stay until the friend or boyfriend she had at the time had enough of us,” said Johnson.
Johnson and his two siblings (he was the middle child) enrolled in 5 different schools while he was in first-grade alone, so he had no stability.
After a number of instances, Johnson and his brother ended up being raised by their aunt, Sharon Shakesnider, who served as the President of the Black Nurses Associates of Greater Houston. She wanted to provide the boys with a more structured and disciplined living condition, so that they could get on the right track and grow up to be productive young men.
Not only had his home life been unstable, Johnson also had no stable, male authority figure in the home to deal with his disobedient behavior, so he struggled with obedience. He had not known his father during that time, although he finally got the opportunity to meet his when he was 10 years old. He became close to his father, but his father ended up dying two years later at the age of 36, due to diabetes complications.
“I was so excited to meet my dad and I was more excited to find out that he had always known I existed,” said Johnson. “Before meeting him, I had never asked or though
t about meeting or knowing my father, because most kids around me did not know who their father was either. So in my mind nothing was ever missing. One day my aunt looked him up, called him and he came right over. My dad even had a two year old picture of me, and dared anyone to ask about it. From there, we spent what seemed to be every other weekend together. He had his own landscaping business, was very involved in the church and enjoyed bowling…all of which I enjoy doing.”
The death of his dad, really dealt a blow to Johnson, so he turned back to his old ways.
“I remember growing up and hearing words like ‘mischievous, bad as hell and the devil’ to describe my behavior,” said Johnson.
Being called those names was seemingly appropriate, according to Johnson, considering some of the notable events in his young life, such as burning down the family apartment while playing with matches behind the recliner at the age of 5; pulling the fire alarm at the nursing home and causing everyone to be evacuated at the age 9; and taking the keys to his aunt’s vehicles and going on joy rides around the block a couple of times before she got out of the shower. At the age of 16, he totaled her car by running into a tree.
Johnson struggled academically and started to get into a lot of trouble as he lost interest in school. He was arrested for shoplifting in 1991. He was put on probation and received 150 hours of community service, as a result. Johnson knew that if he did not make a drastic change in his life, that he would get into some trouble that he could never turn back from and get out of.
During high school, Johnson was in the Job Corp, a program that released students for a half-day to go to work. He had been working as a shop/errands boy during his eleventh and twelfth grade years, and figured at that rate he would become an auto mechanic.
After talking with a female friend, she told Johnson that she was joining the military and she asked him if he wanted to join too. Because he had learned so much about working on cars, Johnson figured that he could become a mechanic in the military.
“I was a poor academic student and I had no confidence in going to junior college,” said Johnson. “I was bad! I had no direction….no vision. I had a good friend tell me about the Air Force. So after thinking about it, we both joined together and I never looked back.”
He joined the U.S. Air Force and his Administrative and Computer training took him to Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas; Keesler Air Force Base in Biloxi, Mississippi; and his first duty-station at Dyess Air Force Base in Abilene, TX.
It was there, at Dyess Air Force Base, where he met his wife of 20+ years, Okeshia and raised their two children, Kayla and Michael II; both are college-students.
In 1998, Senior Airman Johnson spent 98 days in Haiti, supporting Haiti Operations UPHOLD/RESTORE DEMOCRACY, which was a U.S. intervention designed to remove the military regime installed by the 1991 Haitian coup d’état that overthrew the elected President Jean-Bertrand Aristide.
“My complexion allowed me to blend in and be received by the Haitians when out with the responders and security personnel,” said Johnson. “It was a life-altering experience for me, first-hand witnessing true poverty and decomposed bodies just lying in/on the side of the road.”
From 1998 to 2002, he began supporting the Air Intelligence Agency while stationed at Misawa Cryptological Operations Center aka “Security Hill” at Misawa Air Base Japan, north of Tokyo.
“We were surrounded by satellite domes and massive antennas,” said Johnson. “The service members who work there can’t celebrate their victories. They quietly work behind the scenes, developing and processing war-preventing information.”
He went on to serve in Germany at Headquarters U.S. Air Force Europe, in direct support to the Intelligence Commander, and then went on to serve at Mildenhall Air Base, England, from 2005 to 2009. At Mildenhall, he supported the Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance aircraft mission. Johnson is now serving on his fifth deployment, having been deployed in Haiti, Qatar, Al Dhafra, Iraq and now in Afghanistan, where he serves in Kabul as part of the 42-country, U.S.-led Resolute Support Coalition. The coalition helps with the training, advising and assisting of the Afghans as they rebuild their country.
During his career, Johnson was deployed to various assignments culminating with 12 consecutive years overseas. He took his family to visit various popular sites, historical and spiritual landmarks: Ephesus, Egypt, Athens, Rome, Spain, Barcelona, Monaco, France and many other fascinating places.
“The Air Force has been very good to me and my family,” he said. “Growing up in Houston, I never imagined I would have experienced the world beyond the United States, and have a nice home, car and a beautiful family. I’m very fortunate, and looking back I know God fulfilled His promises through my life. I’m so blessed, not because of what I have and experienced, but I understand and applied ‘Service before Self’ and unto God and my country.”
In 2009, Johnson and his family returned to San Antonio, Texas where it all began at Lackland Air Force Base, at Headquarters, 25th Air Force. After his return from Afghanistan, in April 2016, Johnson plans to retire after 24 years of loyal and faithful service to the military that changed his life. He has been awarded seven Service medals for achievement, 11 Campaign medals, and 12 Unit awards that he wears with pride in his service dress blues uniform.
Now that he and his military wife are about to retire this year, he desires to volunteer at a shelter because he believes his ministry is reaching men and teenagers.
“I share my testimony with teenagers who believe that ‘where they are, is all they are,’ because by encouraging them to consider the military, they can at least learn a trade, get certified and may even make a career of it because the opportunities they encounter are endless,” said Johnson. “I let them know the opportunities in the military exist the same for everybody because you are around people who are like minded in the sense of our ‘core values’ (Integrity, Service before Self and Excellence) in all we do.”
Johnson states that the honor and pride that he has for serving his country and for the American flag came after hearing the stories that different family members tell of their loved one’s service and how it impacted what they did after as a civilian.
Way to make Houston proud….Job well done, soldier!