By John Osborne
Senior Chief Mass Communication Specialist
Seaman Apprentice Jaquan Johnson, a native of Columbia, serves the U.S. Navy assigned to Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 5.
Johnson graduated from Columbia High School in 2023.
The skills and values needed to succeed in the Navy are similar to those found in Columbia.
“I learned early on that it is easier to do something you don’t want to do than it is to do something that doesn’t appeal to you,” Johnson said. “In the Navy, that is the situation you find yourself in a lot. You may not want to do a certain task, but you’ll do it because it’s somehow important to the mission. You don’t always just get to do the things that you like. That’s life.”
Johnson joined the Navy 10 months ago. Today, Johnson serves as a personnel specialist.
“I joined the Navy because I had become too complacent at home and it was time for a change,” Johnson said. “My mother did not want me to join the Navy and leave home, but I knew I had to do it.”
