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CANCELLED – Colonel CJ Johnson Presentation
October 8, 2021 @ 12:10 pm - 1:00 pm
EVENT HAS BEEN CANCELLED
Join the Honors College and College of Arts and Sciences for a discussion with WSU alumnus
Colonel Christopher “CJ” Johnson (’02)
Friday, October 8 @ 12:10pm
Elmina White Honors Hall Lounge
In search of scrappiness: Why grit is the most important quality I look for in teammates, new hires, and new bosses
Colonel CJ Johnson is the Director of Innovation and Technology Outreach for the Cross-Mission Ground and Communications Enterprise within the U.S. Space Force at Los Angeles Air Force Base, California. His organization develops, acquires, and sustains terrestrial-based communication systems, information networks, and command and control software applications comprising the Space Enterprise of the Department of Defense. CJ leads a small team focused on searching for and evaluating emerging technologies from the American technology start-up community.
CJ earned his commission in the U.S. Air Force in 2002, following graduation from WSU. While CJ currently supports the U.S. Space Force, he is both an Air Force communications network and Africa Foreign Area officer. CJ has served at every level of the Air Force, to include serving as the Commanding Officer of the 919th Special Operations Communications Squadron at Duke Field, FL.
His staff-level experience includes U.S. Special Operations Command Central, Office of the Under Secretary of the Air Force for International Affairs, Joint Staff Deputy Directorate for Africa, U.S. Africa Command, and U.S. Cyber Command.
He has been stationed overseas at Ramstein Air Base, Germany, and the U.S. Embassy in Morocco. CJ’s overseas duty also includes Tunisia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, the Kyrgyz Republic, and operations supporting Operation Enduring Freedom.
A graduate of the WSU Honors College, CJ has a Bachelor of Arts degree in French, a Master of Science degree in Security Studies from the Naval Postgraduate School, a Master of Science degree in Strategic Intelligence from the National Intelligence University, a Master of Science degree in National Resource Strategy from the National Defense University, and a foreign language certificate for basic continental Portuguese proficiency from the Defense Language Institute in Monterey, CA.
CJ also established a WSU French language undergraduate scholarship in memory of his mother who also was a Francophone and multi-lingual. The scholarship is for students majoring in a foreign language. Visit https://slcr.wsu.edu/studentawards/ for more details.