The 2016 Service Members of the Year are, from left, Staff Sgt. Clifford Crawford, Marine Gunnery Sgt. Brian Dowling, Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Samuel Johnson, Lt. Cmdr. Megan Drewniak and Capt. Sachariah Fike.
Chattanooga native Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Samuel Johnson, named Sailor of the Year by the Navy Times, is shown here at the finish of the 2015 Marine Corps Marathon in Quantico, Va.Local chapters
To locate a Team Red White & Blue chapter near you, visit teamrwb.org and plug in your ZIP code under the “Join the Team” tab.
In 2012, when Navy Hospital Corpsman 1st Class Samuel Johnson returned after a second, eight-month tour in Afghanistan, he was a different person than when he'd left several months earlier.
Back on duty in Virginia Beach, Va., he missed the routine and the camaraderie he'd felt being around other soldiers every day, and he suddenly was not interested in re-engaging with family and friends back home.
"I was not connecting like I used to, and I got into some not-too-healthy habits," says Johnson, now 30. "Being in healthcare, I knew it was something I had to change. You deploy and serve in such a communal space where you have dinner with the guy you bunk next to and then you come home and you don't have that communal activity anymore. It can be hard."
Johnson, who attended Lakeview-Fort Oglethorpe High School and also did two tours in Iraq, had attended a 5K road race in the Virginia Beach area a couple of years before and noticed a runner wearing a Team RWB T-shirt and running while carrying an American flag.
"I remember thinking that was cool, but it had to make running harder with all that drag and all," Johnson says.
A month later, he attended another run and saw more Team RWB T-shirts, and his curiosity was piqued. He went online and discovered that Team Red White & Blue was a support group of mostly military personnel who got together for regular physical and social activities like biking, walking, running and shared meals. He decided to get involved, though he soon learned he'd pretty much seen all the local active Team RWB members at those two races.
"There were only four or five active members in Virginia Beach at the time in 2013," he says.
Today, in large part because of Johnson's tireless devotion to the cause, there are 1,400 active RWB members in the Virginia Beach chapter (100,000 members and 180 chapters nationally); because of that work, Johnson was named the Military Times Sailor of the Year for 2016. This is the 16th year that the Military Times has honored service members of the Year from the Army, Marines, Navy, Air Force and Coast Guard.
The winners are nominated by a peer and winners are selected by editors at the various publications dedicated to each branch as well as by Military Times staffers. Officially, Johnson is the Navy Times Soldier of the Year.
Among the new members of the Virginia Beach RWB are Hospital Corpsman Chief Petty Officer Thomas Dewitt and his wife, Megan. Dewitt, who recently retired, was Johnson's leading chief, which means Johnson recruited his boss for the group.
As he does with all new sailors under his command, Dewitt says he asked Johnson about his outside interests and what things he was involved in. After hearing about Team RWB, Dewitt wanted to know more to find out if it was as good as it sounded. He was so impressed, he went home and recruited his civilian wife to be on the team.
"We are very thankful to be a part of it, and I was recruited by my own sailor, which I think is a great thing," Dewitt says. "He's spreading the love, and it means the future of the Navy is in good hands with young soldiers like Sam."
Jennifer Machlin, run coordinator for the Virginia Beach RWB chapter, also gives Johnson much of the credit for the chapter's growth and focus.
"It's really wonderful what the chapter and the organization does for veterans and the community," she says. "It is able to impact their lives in a positive manner and Sam has had a huge part to do with it. We wouldn't be where we are without his inspiration."
Johnson is quick to defer praise for the rise in member numbers to all the other volunteers who schedule and produce nearly 40 activities a month for the group.
"There are 30 days in a month, so doing the math," he says, "a lot of people put in a lot of work for this."
He says that, while the Team RWB organization is dedicated to scheduled activities, the real work is done by giving people something to focus on and anticipate. The group is not just open to veterans, he explains, and anyone can join and get involved.
"Physical activity is one of the best things for people physically and emotionally, but this also holds people accountable," Johnson says. "If you say you are going to attend, we make sure you do. I've also met a lot of people through this. We have a common bond."
Team RWB works with other support groups like the Veterans Administration or Give An Hour, a group that pairs vets willing to talk with a veteran in need of someone to speak with. Johnson says works with Team RWB because of it has done for him.
"It's been life-changing," he says. "I couldn't tell you where I would be had I not found Team RWB, but I can tell you it would not have been positive."
And being named Sailor of the Year has re-energized him to do even more.
"Where I live there are seven Navy bases around us, so to have 1,400 members in our area is great, but think about all those that are not members."
Contact Barry Courter at bcourter@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6354.