General speaks about mentorship at Women's Final Four

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Jeremy Larlee
  • Air Force News Agency
TAMPA, Fla. (AFPN) --  The young lieutenant sat in the copilot's chair and tried to decide what she was going to do.

Some of the dials on the control panel were not in the right position, but did she dare correct the pilot? She thought the grizzled lieutenant colonel, who was notorious for showing no mercy to young pilots, was extremely intimidating.

After mustering her courage for a brief moment, she reached across and corrected the dials while at the same time bracing for a verbal lashing.

It never arrived.

"Thank you, lieutenant," the colonel said.

Now many years later, Brig. Gen. Michelle D. Johnson, the deputy director for the War on Terrorism in the Strategic Plans and Policy Directorate of the Joint Staff at the Pentagon, remembers that moment as vital to her progression as an officer.

"It was such a small moment but it made me feel so good about myself," she said. "It showed that he respected me. It made me feel that I could do anything and that I belonged."

The general would go on to accumulate more than 3,600 flying hours spread across multiple airframes. She would also move on to other fields and excel as an Air Force aide for two presidents, become a wing commander and the director of Air Force public affairs and numerous other positions.

The general told her story to a group of Tampa civic leaders April 7. It was her last day at the 2008 Women's Final Four. She came to the event as a public outreach mission. 

NCAA officials said her schedule was the busiest of anyone attending the event. At most events she spoke to young women about life after basketball.

"It was an opportunity for me to come down and talk to the players about what happens after intercollegiate sports," General Johnson said. "Most college athletes don't go pro in sports, they go pro in other professions."

The general's storied athletic career caught the attention of the young women at the Final Four. She is a 1981 Air Force Academy graduate and four-year letter winner on the women's basketball team. She holds the school record for her career scoring average of 17.6 points per game and 689 career field goals made. She was the team co-captain from 1979 to 1981 and was an Academic All-American in 1980 and 1981. She was one of six people inducted into the inaugural class of the Academy's Athletic Hall of Fame.

She identifies sports as being a major factor in her success in the military.

"You learn lessons in sports that carry over to life," she said. "It taught me to keep going after getting knocked down. That everybody on a team needs to be appreciated. You have to respect the person who scores two points and hustles after every ball as much as the person who scores 35 points."

The general also remarked to the civic leaders that one of her mentors was among them in the crowd. Fern Kinion had helped her in her application process to become a Rhodes Scholar, the general said.

Mrs. Kinion worked at the Air Force Academy, and in addition to helping her with an essay and preparing for an interview, she gave the general many confidence-boosting pep talks, General Johnson said.

It filled her with pride to see General Johnson accomplish so much, Mrs. Kinion said.

"It's been fun to follow her career," she said. "She is a great leader, lady and officer.
She shows other women that they can accomplish anything that they set out to do."

General Johnson said her mentoring strategy is to take advantage of the small moments when they happen. She said that letting someone know when they have done something right is critical.

"There is nothing wrong with making someone feel good when they have done well," she said. "Sometimes your young people may not be sure that they are doing something right. Give them that high five and show them they are appreciated. They will perform so much better for you."

Or, as in General Johnson's case, a simple thank you could be a pivotal moment in a successful military career.

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