View source for Michelle D. Johnson

{{short description|US Air Force general}}
{{Infobox officeholder
|name = Michelle Johnson
|image = Lt Gen Michelle D. Johnson (3).jpg
|caption = Johnson in 2016
| order             = 19th
| title             = [[Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy]]
| term_start        = August 12, 2013
| term_end          = August 11, 2017
| president         = Barack Obama<br>Donald Trump
| predecessor       = [[Michael C. Gould]]
| successor         = [[Jay B. Silveria]]
|birth_date = c. {{birth year and age|1959}}
|birth_place = 
|death_date = 
|death_place = 
| module            = 
  {{Infobox military person | embed=yes
|allegiance = {{Flag|United States}}
|branch = {{air force|United States}}
|serviceyears = 1981–2017
|rank = [[Lieutenant general (United States)|Lieutenant General]]
|commands = [[Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy|Superintendent]], [[United States Air Force Academy|USAF Academy]] 
|awards = [[Defense Superior Service Medal]]<br />[[Legion of Merit]]<br />[[Meritorious Service Medal (United States)|Meritorious Service Medal]]<br />[[Aerial Achievement Medal]]<br />[[Air Force Commendation Medal]]<br />[[Air Force Achievement Medal]]
| alma_mater    = [[United States Air Force Academy]] (BS)<br>[[Brasenose College, Oxford]] (MA)
}}
}}

'''Michelle D. Johnson''' (born c. 1959) is a retired [[Lieutenant General (United States)|lieutenant general]] in the [[United States Air Force]] and former senior vice president and head of referee operations for the [[NBA|National Basketball Association]].<ref name="NBA">{{cite web|title=Retired Air Force Lieutenant General Michelle D. Johnson named NBA Senior Vice President and Head of Referee Operations|url=http://www.nba.com/article/2017/10/12/nba-michelle-johnson-senior-vice-president-referee-operations|website=NBA|accessdate=27 April 2018}}</ref>

Johnson was the 19th [[Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy|superintendent]] of the [[United States Air Force Academy|U.S. Air Force Academy]], the first woman to lead a [[United States Department of Defense|U.S. Department of Defense]] [[United States service academies|service academy]]. Her previous position was the Deputy Chief of Staff, Operations and Intelligence, [[Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe]] in Casteau, Belgium. She was formerly the Director, Strategy, Policy, Programs and Logistics, [[U.S. Transportation Command]] at [[Scott Air Force Base]]. Johnson also served as the deputy director for information and cyberspace policy, Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate at the [[The Pentagon|Pentagon]].

As an Air Force Academy cadet, Johnson was the first woman to serve as cadet wing commander (senior ranking cadet), and starred on the [[Air Force Falcons women's basketball|women's basketball team]], scoring over 1,700 points.<ref name="rhodesProject">{{cite web|title=Profile with Michelle Johnson|url=http://rhodesproject.com/michelle-johnson-profile/|website=The Rhodes Project|accessdate=12 April 2016}}</ref><ref name=aftmgzt>{{cite news |url=https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2017/08/12/lt-gen-michelle-johnson-the-air-force-academys-first-female-boss-is-leaving-confident/ |work=Air Force Times |agency=Associated Press |last=Roeder |first=Tom |title=Lt. Gen. Michelle Johnson, the Air Force Academy's first female boss, is leaving confident |date=August 12, 2017 |accessdate=October 5, 2020}}</ref> She was twice named an Academic All-American and was inducted into the Academic All-American Hall of Fame in 2007, making her the first woman from the Academy and one of only six graduates with that distinction. Also, she was selected as the Academy's first woman [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholar]] in her First Class (senior) Year, and graduated with a bachelor's degree in operations research in&nbsp;1981.

A [[Military transport aircraft|transport]] and [[Aerial refueling|tanker]] pilot, Johnson was recognized as an Honorary Fellow of [[Brasenose College, Oxford|Brasenose College]] at [[University of Oxford|Oxford]] in 2013, and received the 2014 [[American Legion Auxiliary]] Woman of the Year Award.<ref name="ALAaward">{{cite web |url=https://www.usafa.af.mil/news/story?id=123423215 |title=Academy supt. honored as ALA Woman of the Year |last=Baillie |first=Amber |publisher=[[United States Air Force Academy]] |date=2014-09-02 |access-date=2014-09-09 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140911001745/http://www.usafa.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123423215 |archive-date=2014-09-11 }}</ref> Johnson was awarded a star (#42) on The Flag for Hope on June 18, 2016 in recognition of her outstanding military service.<ref name="Flag for Hope">{{cite web |url=http://flagforhope.com/star-42-lt-general-michelle-johnson |title=Lietenant General Michelle Johnson – Flag for Hope Star #42  |publisher=[[Flag for Hope]] |date=2016-10-13 |accessdate=2016-10-13 }}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Johnson |first=Michelle |date=July 5, 2016 |title=Saluting the flag and all it stands for |url=https://gazette.com/military/saluting-the-flag-and-all-it-stands-for/article_f94f6114-2d02-5bce-937f-b0f676dd9837.html |work=[[The Gazette (Colorado Springs)|The Gazette]] |location=[[Colorado Springs, Colorado]] |access-date=February 20, 2022}}</ref>

==Education and training==
* 1977 [[Spencer, Iowa|Spencer, Iowa High School]] 
*1981 Distinguished graduate, Bachelor of Science degree in operations research, [[United States Air Force Academy|U.S. Air Force Academy]], [[Colorado Springs, Colorado]].
* 1983 [[Rhodes Scholarship|Rhodes Scholar]], Master of Arts degree in politics and economics, [[Brasenose College, Oxford]], [[England]].  At Brasenose College, Johnson studied with [[Vernon Bogdanor]] and [[Peter J N Sinclair|Peter Sinclair]] who also taught [[David Cameron]], the former [[Prime Minister of the United Kingdom|British Prime Minister]]
* 1987 [[Squadron Officer School]], [[Maxwell Air Force Base]], [[Alabama]].
* 1991 [[Air Command and Staff College]], by correspondence
* 1996 [[Air War College]], by correspondence
* 1999 Master of Science degree in national security strategy, [[National War College]], [[Fort Lesley J. McNair]], [[Washington, D.C.]]
* 2002 National Security Management Fellow, [[Syracuse University]], New York
* 2005 Senior Executive Fellows Program, [[Harvard University]], [[Cambridge, Massachusetts]]
* 2007 Fellow, [[Seminar XXI]]&nbsp;— Foreign Politics, International Relations and the National Interest, [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]], Cambridge, Massachusetts
* 2011 Joint Flag Officer Warfighting Course, Maxwell AFB, Ala.
* 2013 The Harvard Seminar for New Presidents, Harvard Graduate School of Education, Cambridge, Mass.

==Military career==
Johnson attended pilot training at [[Williams Air Force Base]] in Arizona from May 1983 to July 1984, and completed her three-month [[Lockheed C-141 Starlifter|C-141]] qualification training at [[Altus Air Force Base|Altus AFB]], [[Oklahoma]], in October of that year.

Her command assignments included the [[9th Air Refueling Squadron]], the [[97th Operations Group]] and the [[22d Air Refueling Wing]]. She commanded a deployed air refueling squadron in [[Operation Southern Watch]] and an air refueling wing in support of Operations [[Operation Noble Eagle|Noble Eagle]], [[Enduring Freedom]] and [[Iraqi Freedom]]. She has served as the Air Force aide to the President, and as an Assistant Professor of Political Science, instructor pilot, and Associate [[Air Officer Commanding]] at the U.S. Air Force Academy.

On August 12, 2013, Johnson assumed command as [[Superintendent of the United States Air Force Academy|Superintendent]] of the U.S. Air Force Academy, the first woman to hold the position.<ref>{{cite news|title=First woman slated to lead Air Force Academy|url=https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/nation/2013/03/01/woman-air-force-academy/1958083/?dlvrit=206567|publisher=USA Today|accessdate=2 March 2013|date=March 1, 2013}}</ref> After 36 years of active duty, she retired from the Air Force in October 2017.<ref name=aftmgzt/>

A [[U.S. Air Force aeronautical rating#Pilot ratings|command pilot]], Johnson has more than 3,600 flying hours in [[Lockheed C-141 Starlifter|C-141]], [[Cessna T-41 Mescalero|T-41]], [[McDonnell Douglas KC-10 Extender|KC-10]], [[Boeing C-17 Globemaster III|C-17]], [[Lockheed C-5 Galaxy|C-5]], [[Boeing KC-135 Stratotanker|KC-135]], [[Cessna T-37 Tweet|T-37]], and [[Northrop T-38 Talon|T-38]] aircraft.
<!-- C-141B, T-41C, KC-10A, KC-135R, C-5A, C-17A, T-37, T-38 -->

==NBA==
Following her retirement from the Air Force in 2017, Johnson was appointed as senior vice president and head of [[Official (basketball)|referee]] operations for the [[National Basketball Association]] (NBA) on October&nbsp;12<!--, 2017-->. She assumed her new position on October&nbsp;16 and stepped down two years later<!--from the position on October 15, 2019-->.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://official.nba.com/michelle-d-johnson-to-step-down-as-nba-senior-vice-president-and-head-of-referee-operations/|title=Michelle D. Johnson To Step Down As NBA Senior Vice President And Head Of Referee Operations|date=September 27, 2019 |website=official.nba.com|accessdate=2019-11-24}}</ref> Her duties included overseeing the recruitment, training, development, and evaluation of NBA referees, as well as the NBA replay center.<ref name="NBA"/>

==Promotion history==
{{USAF DOR O-9|May 27, 1981|May 27, 1983|May 27, 1985|Oct. 1, 1991|Feb. 1, 1995|May 1, 1999|Jan. 2, 2007|Aug. 2, 2010|Aug. 12, 2013}}

==References==
{{Reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category}}
* [https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Biographies/Display/Article/107919/michelle-d-johnson/ Official USAF biography]

{{United States Air Force Academy superintendents}}
{{Iowa Women's Hall of Fame}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Michelle D.}}
[[Category:United States Air Force Academy alumni]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Legion of Merit]]
[[Category:Female generals of the United States Air Force]]
[[Category:Year of birth missing (living people)]]
[[Category:Syracuse University alumni]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:Alumni of Brasenose College, Oxford]]
[[Category:Living people]]
[[Category:American Rhodes Scholars]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal]]
[[Category:Superintendents of the United States Air Force Academy]]
[[Category:NBA league office executives]]
[[Category:Women heads of universities and colleges]]
[[Category:Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States)]]
[[Category:21st-century American women]]
[[Category:Iowa Women's Hall of Fame Inductees]]