Chronological Experiences - John grew up in Ogden, Utah.  He was the oldest of six brothers and one sister.  After serving a church mission in the Canary Islands in Spain, John went to basic combat soldier training at Ft. Leonard Wood, MO. He then proceeded to Ft. Sam Houston, TX to be trained as a combat medic and a surgical technician and was the Distinguished Honor Graduate of his class.  He served with the Utah 144th Combat Support Hospital.  John went to Weber State University and earned a B.A. degree in psychology. During college, John worked part time on campus for the Services for Students with Disabilities, reading college text books for blind students. John stayed busy by also participating with the folk dance team, the institute chorale, a fraternity, the LDSSA committee, and the Army Reserve Officer Training Corps (ROTC) where he finished as Honor Graduate, class of 1997.

Following a successful Army ROTC Advanced Camp and ranking in the top 5% of the nation, John was commissioned as an Army Intelligence Officer.  After receiving his Top Secret Security Clearance and finishing his Tactical Intelligence Officer training in Ft. Huachuca, AZ, he was stationed at Ft. Gordon, GA with the 513th Military Intelligence Brigade. Here he served as a Company Executive Officer, Battalion Maintenance Officer, and Headquarter Company Executive Officer. 

John was deployed to Saudi Arabia in 1999 for Joint Task Force Southwest Asia (JTFSWA).  He worked directly with the commander, Major General Schmidt, during Operation Desert Fox.  He worked in the Joint Air Operations Center during real-time flight operations over Iraq and briefed the commander during these missions when Saddam Hussein was still in power.  John was also responsible for theater-wide combat search and rescue (CSAR) operations.  John was the liaison to the Saudi Arabian government officials as well as the French and British military officials who were part of the coalition.  He produced and disseminated the releasable multinational force intelligence information for these partners.  

After several years of active duty, John again joined the Utah Army National Guard and his unit was activated to pull security at the Olympic Village for the Salt Lake 2002 Winter Olympics and Paralympics following the 911 attack.  He worked directly with the Presidential Secret Service as well as the directors of intelligence and foreign dignitaries for various security functions.

In 2002, John was deployed to war-ravaged Bosnia and Herzegovina as Operations Officer for Security Force 12. He led a counter intelligence team and nine human intelligence teams, consisting of Army Rangers, HUMINT collectors, and local interpreters.  His teams produced intelligence information that was used by President Bush and Dick Cheney as justification for the second war in Iraq (declassified by Dick Cheney).  John loved serving his country, but frequent absences were hard for a family with young children.  So after a 10 year military career, he separated and finished his master’s degree in business marketing.

John spent several years working in various business ventures and industries including the National Federation of Independent Business. This is a small business lobbying group where he met with hundreds of business owners to understand their challenges with taxes, burdensome regulations, workers’ compensation costs, and government overreach. Most recently, John has worked for major pharmaceutical and medical companies like Novo Nordisk and Myriad Genetics in pharmacogenomics testing.  He has received many national awards and recognitions for his leadership and performance.   

During these decades, John enjoyed serving in his faith in various capacities and particularly as a scout master and ecclesiastical leader for his church.  This time working with the youth has been some of his favorite years.  Feeling the need to serve in all aspects of his life, he has also served for the past 20 years as a state delegate, county delegate, and precinct chair for Precinct SY11 in the Republican Party.

Family - John is most grateful for his wife, Carrie. They have been married for 30 years and have six children, a son-in-law, a daughter-in-law, and a granddaughter.  He is honored that his three eldest children currently serve their country in the Army.  John has always tried to instill the value and blessings of serving in all capacities and for these reasons, he has felt the need to give more during a very turbulent time in our country.

Faith - Above all, John considers himself a disciple of Jesus Christ.  This is fundamental to everything he does.  His faith, his family, and his freedoms are his greatest fundamental priorities.