Following the terrorist attacks on September 11, thousands of U.S. troops were deployed to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Sergeant First Class Mark Johnson, father of senior Tim Johnson, was among them.
Johnson remembers exactly where he was and what he was doing at the time of the attacks.
“As a reservist, I was just arriving at my civilian job on 9/11 in the Ballston area of Arlington, Virginia when the first plane hit the towers,” said Johnson. “Like most people at first I thought it was just a horrible accident and it wasn’t until the second plane hit that I realized it was something more. At the point it was obvious that this wasn’t an isolated incident on one specific target, I remember thinking to myself, ‘this is it. We are at war.’”
Johnson tried to phone his unit to get a status on their alert level, but was not able to get through.
When he eventually reached his unit full-time personnel, one of his captains informed him that the unit was on standby and that he was to wait for further instructions.
He remembers that her voice was very tense and nervous as she spoke.
As he was communing with his unit, Johnson was also simultaneously trying to find out if his wife and children were okay.
“For a while I found myself in a mix of two realities, civilian and military, which had suddenly melded into one,” said Johnson.
He was particularly worried for his wife, Sara, who worked in Crystal City, Arlington, which is close to the Pentagon and Reagan National Airport. She worked for a government contractor and there were a large number of military personnel in that area, so he was concerned that those buildings might also be a target.
Johnson’s youngest child, John, was safe at home with his grandmother, but his older children, Will and Tim, were enrolled in school. He was concerned about how the schools were handling the situation and the safety of the children.
“Although I knew that the schools would do everything possible to protect the children, it was just that I didn’t know, or have control of anything that was bothering me,” said Johnson. “I was finally able to reach Sara and she said she was safe and on the road trying to get home. I was then able to reach the school and they said they were keeping the children there until parents could come pick them up. Both those calls gave me a huge relief.”
Johnson picked his children up at school later that day and that evening they talked as a family and shared stories and thoughts about the day’s events.
“I just did my best to try and make them all feel safe and secure,” said Johnson.
Johnson was called up on active duty on December 4, 2005 and served for a total of 18 months. That included approximately 6 months training prior to deployment and 12 months in Afghanistan.
“My activation and deployment in December 2005 and subsequent 12 month tour of duty in Afghanistan was a direct result of the attacks on 9/11,” said Johnson.
As a Civil Affairs A Team Sergeant (CAT-A NCOIC), Johnson conducted civil-military operations in the Parwan and Kapisa provinces of Afghanistan. This included, but was not limited to, assessing villages for reconstruction projects such as schools, drinking wells, roads, bridges, clinics, and government district buildings.
He also assisted with medical clinics and humanitarian aid.
These civil-military operations often put Johnson in harm’s way.
“As with many other teams performing similar operations, we conducted over 200 missions ‘outside the wire’ which exposed us to the enemy,” said Johnson. “We were engaged by the enemy on a few occasions with ambushes and suicide bombers.”
Johnson’s return from that deployment coincided with the end of his enlistment in the army. He decided not to re-enlist and left the army completely in June 2007.
June of this year, Johnson decided to re-enlist into the Army Reserves for the next 6 years.
“My reasons for going back in are many and somewhat complicated but I do think that the fact that our conflict is still ongoing has something to do with it,” said Johnson.
Johnson now notices a difference in the atmosphere of the reserves compared to 4 years ago.
“We are much more battle focused and there is a stronger concentration on being combat ready these days,” said Johnson. “Although I doubt that I will be deployed overseas again at this point, I will have to be focused and ready to go if called. That’s all part of being in the service of our country.”
Johnson’s son, senior Tim Johnson, reflects on his father’s experience.
“One can only imagine the fear of another individual who has a loved one overseas,” said Johnson. “As a 12 year old boy, that fear was my reality. Being blinded by the misconception of ‘how can any good come from this?’, it didn’t take until a few years later for me to understand that what my father did was truly extraordinary.”