Alumni-Where They Are Now
This Soldier Won't Fade Away
By USBE Online
Jul 14, 2008, 18:05

2008 Black Engineer Lifetime Achievement Award winner has been a basketball fan for just as long. But who knew that when the two-star Army Major General Ronald L Johnson, retired from active duty in March, as deputy commanding general of the Army Corps of Engineers -- the second highest ranking engineer in the Army, that MG Johnson would be shooting hoops?

On July 1, the National Basketball Association Commissioner David Stern announced that retired Army Major General Johnson had been named to the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Referee Operations, with responsibility for all aspects of recruiting, training and development, scheduling, data management and analysis, and work rules enforcement. Johnson will report to Joel Litvin, NBA President, League and Basketball Operations.

The appointment of General Johnson to head the league’s officiating program formalizes the separation of the league's referee and basketball operations functions, as previously announced by the league.

“Ron's wealth of leadership and management experience, together with his engineering expertise in areas such as systems analysis, processes, and operations, make him an ideal candidate to lead our officiating program,” said Stern. “Our referees are the best in the world but they never stop striving to improve and Ron has made a career out of getting the very best out of people. We are fortunate to have someone of such extraordinary accomplishment joining our staff."

"As I leave the military and return to civilian life, I can't imagine a more interesting and challenging position," said Johnson. "Although I don't have a basketball background, other than as a lifelong fan, I am confident that my experience as an Army commander and engineer has equipped me to bring leadership and innovation to the NBA's exceptional officiating program."