FOLLOWING a decorated 47-year career of combined military, public and civilian federal service in the United States, Bahamian Hazel Lenora Darville-Johnson has retired.
Born and raised in Mount Royal Avenue, Nassau, Mrs Johnson-Darville retired on January 21 from the US Defence Department (DOD) after a life in nursing and development training in which she received many awards and much recognition.
Mrs Johnson was raised by her maternal uncle Willard R Darville and his wife, Kathleen, formerly of Deadman’s Cay, Long Island. For many years the Darvilles owned and operated Darville’s Food Store on Shirley Street. They instilled in their niece the importance of a religious and educational upbringing.
In 1955, she began her education at St George’s Church Kindergarten School, at the time headed by Father Lambert. A year later she attended the Eastern Preparatory School Number 2 on Shirley Street and credits Ms Wilkerson with teaching her not only the basics of reading, writing and arithmetic, but through her example, the art of expressing kindness, compassion and empathy for others. She was graduated to Eastern Junior School on Mackey Street.
In 1964, Mrs Johnson gained admission to the Seventh-Day Adventist Bahamas Academy on Wulff Road, where she credited Pastor H A Roach’s encouragement for her successes throughout her educational and professional careers.
In 1967, she gained admission to the Princess Margaret Hospital School of Nursing and a year later left for the United States to complete her nursing studies. She joined the US Army in 1969 and went on to enjoy an extraordinary and highly successful career in the US Army’s Medical Department.
In 1970, following the completion of the Army’s Nurses training at Fort Gordon, Augusta, Georgia, Mrs Johnson was assigned as a renal failure, dialysis and renal transplant ward nurse at Walter Reed Army Medical Centre (WRAMC), in Washington DC. She was assigned to the US Army’s 130th Station Hospital in Heidelberg, Germany, from 1972 to 1980, in a variety of nursing positions.
In 1980, Mrs Johnson returned to the US for assignment to the US Army’s Fort Meade Army Hospital in Severn, Maryland. Upon completion of a Coronary Care Course at the Naval Medical Centre in Bethesda, she was assigned as the Coronary Care and Surgical Unit Administrative Nurse.
Mrs Johnson’s extensive nursing background and knowledge of the US Army’s Medical Department led to her selection in 1981 as the Career Advisor and Assignment Manager with the Headquarters for the US Army Personnel Command in Alexandria, Virginia. She was responsible for managing careers through advanced medical training and assignments for all US Army Licensed Practical Nurses (LPN) and Radiology Technicians.
In 1984, Mrs Johnson was assigned to the Deputy Administrator for the US Army’s 10th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) at Fort Meade, where she was responsible for the tactical and medical proficiency training and for ensuring all assigned personnel were deployment ready for overseas medical contingencies, medical humanitarian responses and emergency medical support missions within the US and overseas areas.
In 1986, Mrs Johnson deployed to the US Army’s 121st Evacuation Hospital in Seoul, South Korea, and the following year was assigned to the 85th Medical Evacuation Battalion on Yongsan Army Garrison Base. In both positions, she served as the Deputy Administrator and was responsible for ensuring tactical and medical proficiency training and readiness for deployment throughout South Korea and to the Demilitarised Zone between South and North Korea.
In 1990, she attended a six-month Army Senior Leader School at Fort Bliss, El Paso, Texas. She was one of eight women in a graduating class of 636 male students. On graduation, Mrs Johnson was assigned as the Deputy Hospital Administrator for the Fort Eustis Army Hospital in Newport News, Virginia. She was given an honorable retirement at the rank of Sergeant Major in 1994, and as a result of injuries received during her career, Mrs Johnson also retired as a disabled veteran.
During her US Army career, Mrs Johnson’s contributions and accomplishments were recognised with numerous awards, most notably the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, The Order of Military Medical Merit Award Medal and the Legion of Merit Medal.
In 1994, Mrs Johnson began her public service in the Virginia Public School System, joining the teaching staff of Denbigh High School in Newport News, where she taught Military Science and Leadership in the Army Junior Reserve Office Corp (JROTC) programme. She then moved to teach as a Special Education Resource Teacher for Emotionally Disabled students. While teaching full time, she completed a bachelors degree in Psychology with Saint Leo University on the Fort Eustis Army Base Distance Campus. Following her graduation, she enrolled and simultaneously attended and completed two Masters degrees.
In May 1997, she was graduated cum laude from Regent University, Virginia Beach, with a Master’s in Education with emphasis in Cross-Categorical Special Education and a month later, was graduated from The George Washington University, Hampton Roads Campus, with a Masters in Education Administration and Leadership. She taught for three more years at Denbigh High.
In 2000, Mrs Johnson rejoined the DOD as a Federal Government Civilian. For four years, she served as the Cadet Professional Development Training (CPDT) Programme Manager in the Education and Training Directorate for the US Army’s Cadet Command at Fort Monore in Buckroe, Virginia. She selected and assigned qualified students attending colleges and universities throughout the US and participating in the US Army’s Senior Army Reserve Office Corps (SROTC) programme to DOD training and internship programmes worldwide.
In 2004, she returned to Seoul and joined the staff of United States Forces Korea (USFK), Personnel and Manpower Directorate as the Chief of Policy and Programme Development and Implementation and Director of the Sexual Assault Prevention and Response Programme. In 2008, Mrs Johnson was selected to serve as the Deputy Inspector General for both the 8th US Army and USFK, Offices of the Inspectors General. She provided leadership and oversight of investigations into fraud, waste and abuse of DOD resources, whistleblower reprisal and the conduct of organisational regulatory and process compliance inspections.
In 2012, she returned to the US as a Hotline Investigator in the DOD Office of the Inspector General in Alexandria, Virginia, where she analysed and investigated complaints from all DOD personnel and non-DOD personnel worldwide involving fraud, waste and abuse of resources.
During her 16 and a half years as a DOD Federal Government Civilian to her recent retirement she was awarded the Department of the Army Achievement Medal for Civilian Service, the Superior Civilian Service Award, and the Meritorious Civilian Service Award.
Mrs Johnson is a member of Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority Inc and is married to Ronald L Johnson, of New Bern, North Carolina, who has also retired from the US Army and DOD Federal Government. They have one son, Anthony, a daughter, Dawne Stanton, and one granddaughter, Chloe Johnson. The Johnsons plan to reside in Jacksonville, Florida.
Comments
Use the comment form below to begin a discussion about this content.
Sign in to comment
Or login with:
OpenID