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David Johnson, USA “was born in Saudi Arabia because of
his father’s work with the State Department. Having learned Arabic while growing up, Johnson decided to take his skill
and utilize it in the United States Army. In August of 2000, soon after he graduated from high school,
he enlisted under the Army’s language program in Phoenix, AZ. Johnson ultimately spent 6 years
in the Army. He was involved in a Special Operations Unit and was deployed three times to Iraq engaged in combat operations.
After spending three birthdays in Iraq, Johnson departed the service in late 2005.
Upon his honorable discharge
from the Military, Johnson returned to his hometown of Phoenix to pursue a degree from Arizona State University.
After being separated from the military for only one full day, he immediately realized how much he missed the Army,
his buddies, and just how little he belonged to the place that used to be called “home.”
It took several months, but Johnson
realized that in most of his classes there were “Veterans”. Men and Women just like him who
faithfully served, departed the service, and were now going to school. After the realization that there
were fellow “brothers in Arms” in the same classes and instantly forming that bond, stronger friendships emerged
than those he ever had with his friends from high school. In 2009 Johnson was told that there were 600,000
plus veterans in the Phoenix area. He thought to himself, “Why do I only know about 30 of them?”
And a light bulb suddenly came on, and he thought “There has to be a better way for veterans to connect!”
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