U.S. Customs pilot began upward trek as Md. cadet

 

 

(1)
Maj. Jonathan Johnson of the Maryland Wing’s Wicomico Composite Squadron, an agent with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Air and Marine, flies a remotely controlled MQ-9 “Predator B” from a ground control station in North Dakota.

(2)
Maj. Jonathan Johnson (left) and fellow pilot Tyler Bridwell, both pilots beside a MQ-9 “Predator B”  at the Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Air and Marine facility in North Dakota.

(3)
An MQ-9 lands at Grand Forks Air Force Base, N.D.


Ashley M. Wright
Contributing Writer

MARYLAND -- Enlisting as a Civil Air Patrol cadet in Maryland wouldn’t necessarily be expected to lead to flying a remotely piloted MQ-9 “Predator B” over the northern borders of the U.S., providing intelligence to ground agents looking for smuggled weapons, drugs and people.

That’s exactly what happened, though, with CAP Maj. Jonathan Johnson, an air interdiction agent with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection’s Office of Air and Marine.

Johnson joined the Maryland Wing’s Wicomico Composite Squadron as a cadet in January 1996.  Maj. George R. Murray Jr., the unit’s public affairs officer, met him in 1999 and watched him advance from cadet commander to squadron commander and to numerous other roles, including flight instructor, mission pilot, ground team leader and Maryland Wing Group II operations officer.  Murray called Johnson “one of our shining examples.”

During his tenure as squadron commander, the Wicomico unit was selected as the wing’s Squadron of the Year, and Johnson was named Squadron Commander of the Year. 

In addition to his active service with his home squadron, he participated in and staffed numerous state, region and national activities, such as the International Air Cadet Exchange, during which he visited Sweden; the National Blue Beret Encampment in Oshkosh, Wis.; and the Tri-Wing Encampment in Maryland.

“I gained a great deal of satisfaction watching him grow into a superb leader,” Murray said. “Anything Jonathan does, he does well. I have never seen him do anything halfway, and he always had an eye for what was best for his people.”

After earning his college education, becoming an A-10 crew chief for the Maryland Air National Guard and completing deployment to Afghanistan, Johnson took a position in North Dakota to watch over the country’s borders with the Office of Air and Marine.

Customs and Border Protection makes up one of the Department of Homeland Security’s largest and most complex components, with a priority mission of keeping terrorists and their weapons out of the U.S.

The agency also has a responsibility for securing and facilitating trade and travel while enforcing hundreds of federal regulations, including immigration and drug laws, according to its Web site. Its uniformed employees make up the largest law enforcement organization in the nation.

His employer shares the same faith in Johnson as his fellow CAP members. Remotely piloted aircraft like the one he guides are the first to be used in national air space outside of established restricted and military operating areas, and he is the first government agent to be checked out on an unmanned aircraft system in the region.

Many of these firsts came about because Johnson’s early interests in aviation led him to explore CAP. “I was interested in the Air Force and flying,” he said. “CAP melds the two together.”

In addition, working in many different leadership levels in the Maryland Wing provided Johnson with a distinctive view.

“I think CAP is a really good organization,” he said. “I really enjoyed the flying part, but more importantly, it provided a platform for mentoring and teaching.”

Whatever lies ahead for Johnson, CAP helped fortify his integrity, his sense of responsibility and his resolve to accomplish his dreams.

“CAP gave me that baseline foundation of service and responsibility;” he said. “No one does any kind of public service job for the money: It is done for love of our country.”