THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Saturday, August 3, 1996 TAG: 9608030310
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY DALE EISMAN, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: WASHINGTON LENGTH: 84 lines
The U.S. Senate gave Jay L. Johnson a quiet vote of confidence Friday night, confirming him as the Navy's new chief of operations without a word of debate or even a formal vote.
The 50-year-old admiral became America's senior naval officer by unanimous consent when no one challenged his nomination. The action occurred so quickly that Virginia Sen. John W. Warner, who had come to the floor to speak on Johnson's behalf, did not get to make his remarks until after the nomination was approved.
``I am honored by the Senate's vote and the confidence they have shown in me,'' Johnson said in a prepared statement issued later by the Navy. ``I look forward to serving with our proud Navy men and women. Together, we will work to keep our service the highly professional, capable and ready force that it is today.''
Johnson's confirmation came more than 10 weeks after the tragic death of Adm. Mike Boorda, who killed himself about an hour before he was to face reporters' questions on his past wearing of two combat decorations he may not have earned.
Johnson styles himself as a Boorda protege; he told senators earlier this week that he'll follow Boorda's example by making the quality of Navy life his top concern.
``I'm Mike Boorda-trained and proud of it,'' Johnson said.
Johnson takes over a Navy still numbed by the death of Boorda, who was much beloved among sailors because he was the first enlisted man to rise to the service's top post. He must try to do what Boorda could not: get the fleet beyond controversies over sexual harassment and the integration of women that have marked Navy life since the Tailhook scandal of 1991.
A former pilot of the F/A-18 Hornet strike fighter, Johnson attended the Tailhook convention, where Navy and civilian women were sexually assaulted by drunken aviators. He was cleared of any wrongdoing but was reprimanded informally by Navy Secretary John H. Dalton for failing to foresee and head off trouble among his subordinates.
His experience at Tailhook, Johnson told senators, has cemented his determination to see that such incidents are not repeated.
A native of Great Falls, Mont., and a 1968 graduate of the Naval Academy, Johnson makes his permanent home in Virginia Beach. Though he has never commanded a ship, Johnson has had an almost meteoric rise through the ranks; he won his first admiral's star just six years ago and became vice chief of naval operations, Boorda's No. 2 man, early this year.
Described by colleagues as smart and innovative, Johnson was widely praised for his role in the U.S. intervention in Haiti in 1994. Under his direction, Army Rangers and their helicopters replaced Navy jets on the deck of a carrier and used it as a base for their movement onto the island.
Johnson also is a former commander of Carrier Air Wing Eight. In that job, aboard the Theodore Roosevelt, he led the first ``no-fly'' zone initiative over Bosnia in 1993, helping halt the civil war in that country.
A Vietnam veteran, Johnson completed 150 combat missions in two carrier tours during the war. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
Chief of Naval Operations
Adm. Jay L. Johnson
Age: 50
Education: U.S. Naval Academy, Class of 1968
Personal: Married with one daughter
[SIDE BAR]
Career Highlights
Designated a naval aviator in October 1969.
Flew F-8J Crusaders during two combat tours in Vietnam, switched
to flying F-14s, and eventually commanded the Jolly Rogers of
Fighter Squadron 84 at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach.
Headed the junior officer assignment branch for aviators in the
Bureau of Naval Personnel in 1984.
Returned to sea in 1985 to command Air Wing 1 aboard the carrier
America.
Served as assistant chief of staff for operations with the 6th
Fleet from July 1986 to June 1987.
In February 1988 again assumed command of Air Wing 1, as a senior
air wing commander.
Assumed command in October 1992 of Carrier Group 8 aboard the
carrier Theodore Roosevelt.
In 1994, assumed command from Adm. William J. Flanagan Jr. of
the 2nd Fleet, just as the operation to restore democracy in Haiti
kicked off.
KEYWORDS: PROFILE CONFIRMATION CHIEF OF NAVAL OPERATIONS by CNB