Johnson, Jeremy, former Petty Officer First Class, (1996-2007)

Jeremy Johnson joined the United States Navy in December of 1996 at the age of 19. After attending boot camp, he attended career training at Fort Meade, MD for training as a military journalist.

Upon graduating in 1997, he went on to serve as a regional reporter in Japan for the military’s “Pacific Report” and then as the afternoon disc jockey for Eagle 810 in Tokyo.

In 1999, he transferred to Italy to work for the Sixth Fleet Public Affairs staff aboard USS LaSalle.

In 2001, Johnson was chosen to return to Fort Meade to teach television broadcasting to new troops at the military’s Defense Information School. He taught more than 400 Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force personnel how to report from the frontlines though video, writing and editing. Those students can now be seen on the Pentagon Channel. While there, he also received a Joint Service Commendation Medal from the Deputy Secretary of Defense for Public Affairs.

Johnson returned to duty overseas in 2004 with an assignment as program director at the U.S. Navy’s Odyssey 107.3FM in Crete, Greece. This was the station’s first year and it was his job to ensure that all of the pieces, music, DJ’s, ads, satellite programming, were all in place and ready to go. For his work, he was awarded his second Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal.

After 13 months there, Johnson moved to an assignment in Guam aboard submarine tender USS Frank Cable where he served as the assistant Public Affairs Officer for a crew of 1,200. While there, he actively brought the crew’s concerns to senior leadership and helped coordinate international coverage of the first multilateral submarine talks between Australia, Malaysia and the United States in Kuala Lumpur.

In March of 2007, after 10 ½ years of service, Johnson revealed his sexual identity to his commanding officer. After receiving an honorable discharge, he returned to the D.C./Baltimore area.

Throughout his career, by his own admission, Johnson frequently sought out straight friends and allies within the military to whom he could reveal his sexuality. He accomplished this at all five of his military assignments.

In May of 2003, while still on active duty, Johnson also began an internet-based support group, the Network of Gay and Lesbian Servicemembers (NOGLS). The group’s purpose was to keep gay GLBT servicemembers educated about their rights by forwarding relevant articles and information to them.