Doug Johnson has served as DeKalb County Clerk since 2013, and prior to that operated family businesses in his native Sandwich; but his career could have been very different, due to his stint in the U.S. Army.
Doug joined the Army after graduation, and first trained as a combat engineer; but he eventually changed career tracks, first becoming parachute-qualified with the Airborne...then joining Special Forces as a Green Beret...and then becoming an Army Ranger. He eventually was assigned to an Army Green Light team, where he trained to deploy Special Atomic Demolition Munitions (SADM) -- a backpack-carried nuclear weapon.
But after just three years in the service, he gave up this highly-specialized training to return to Sandwich; his father provided him with 300 acres, enough to get him started with his own farm during the 1980's. He eventually moved into tax lien investments, operating that company until his appointment as County Clerk; he gave up his direct interest in the company, which his daughter Megan now controls.
He was elected to a full term as County Clerk in 2014, and plans to run again next year.