Photo By Petty Officer 1st Class Christian Victor Bautista | Captain Brandon Johnson Becomes Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s Deputy Shipyard Commander.... read more read more
After one semester of attending college after high school, Norfolk Naval Shipyard (NNSY) Deputy Commander Brandon Johnson realized that college wasn’t for him at that particular point in his life. Born and raised in Lawrence, Kansas, Johnson had only seen the ocean once when he went on a family trip to Florida when he was around 12 years old. Johnson decided to enlist in the U.S. Navy.
“I wasn’t transitioning into college life too well. I knew I had to leave my hometown to start my own life. I knew I needed to do something different, so I joined the U.S. Navy,” said Johnson. “The movie Top Gun inspired me and made me wonder what it would be like in the Navy. I always felt patriotic. I always felt like I wanted to be that defense type. I thought that's me. That’s my ticket out of the Midwest to start an adventure that has now expanded for almost 35 years.”
The first stop during Johnson’s Navy adventure was for basic training at Naval Training Center (NTC) Recruit Training Command, Orlando, Florida. After boot camp, Johnson spent the next 18 months in training at Machinist’s Mate Nuclear Field “A” School, Nuclear Power School, and Nuclear Power Training Unit, Charleston, South Carolina where he trained onboard the Moored Training Ship Daniel Webster (MTS 626) where he graduated as a Machinist Mate Third Class Petty Officer (MM3). Following that training, he proceeded to his first ship, the California-class nuclear-powered cruiser USS South Carolina (CGN 37) stationed in Norfolk, VA.
“After approximately ten years in the Navy as an enlisted sailor, I had earned my Enlisted Surface Warfare qualifications and I had been advanced to Chief Petty [Officer]. I decided it was time to do the next bigger thing in my Navy career,” said Johnson. “I had a lot of respect for my leaders, especially those who mentored me as an enlisted sailor. One day, I was like ‘hey, I want to be just like my mentors and become an officer in the Navy.”
After Johnson was commissioned as a Limited Duty Officer in 2001, he reported to the nuclear aircraft carrier USS Enterprise (CVN 65), where he served as a Reactor Mechanical Division Officer and Auxiliaries Division Technical Assistant, earning his Officer of the Deck Underway and Surface Warfare Officer Qualifications.
Serving at a variety of sea and shore commands through his career, Johnson’s Navy adventure has led him to be the Deputy Commander for Norfolk Naval Shipyard, where one of his duties and responsibilities is administering the military component of NNSY.
“I feel like my position is more than just being an administrator. The Sailors and civilians alike at NNSY are here to accomplish the same mission of maintaining, repairing and modernizing our Navy ships as efficiently as possible to return the ships to the Fleet on time.”
Using the skills, knowledge and experience Johnson has gained during his career, including several ship maintenance availabilities here at NNSY and his last command as the Executive Officer at Puget Sound Naval Shipyard & Intermediate Maintenance Facility, he will look for areas that will improve efficiency to complete the mission in less time without jeopardizing the quality of work.
“I want to work on being efficient on the training timeline for Sailors and integrate them into the shops to perform their part with the shipyard’s mission as well as to gain skills, knowledge and experience to further their Navy careers,” said Johnson. “Unlike the civilians who work at NNSY, a Sailor is stationed at the shipyard for a relatively short period of time, approximately three years, before transferring to their next command. With all the training and qualifications they have to obtain at the shipyard before performing their work, it shortens their time of actually performing the work necessary to support the mission.”
Johnson continued, “I want to see what Navy schools, training and qualifications that our Sailors have when they first report to NNSY that can carry over to the shipyard without jeopardizing the quality of the work. This way the Sailor’s training and qualifications period can be shortened, which in turn will allow them to work on the mission all that much more, before moving on and the new Sailor comes along who will have to do their training and qualifications.”
When Johnson isn’t leading, training and mentoring both Sailors and civilians alike and looking for new ways to become more efficient in completing NNSY’s mission, he enjoys spending time with his children and granddaughter, playing pickleball and cheering on the Kansas City Royals and Kansas City Chiefs.
Although Johnson’s Navy adventure is coming towards the end, his time as Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s Deputy Commander is just beginning.
“I'm happy to be serving at NNSY. I have grown up in my Navy career during multiple maintenance availabilities here at NNSY. I feel this is going to put the cap on my career, and it's a nice way to finish up,” said Johnson. “I’m looking forward to not only seeing, but being a part of all the great things Norfolk Naval Shipyard will accomplish during my final tour of my Navy adventure.”
| Date Taken: | 06.02.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.14.2025 07:13 |
| Story ID: | 503387 |
| Location: | PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA, US |
| Web Views: | 396 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
This work, Captain Brandon Johnson Becomes Norfolk Naval Shipyard’s Deputy Shipyard Commander, by Troy Miller, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
No keywords found.
