Center for Public Health Workforce Development
TRAINEE PROFILE: JOHNNY ORTEGA
Protecting and Serving, in the National Guard and Beyond
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After twenty-three years of experience in the military, it would be easy to conclude that Major Johnny Ortega has seen and done it all when it comes to safety assessments and emergency response. From hurricanes to the COVID-19 pandemic to counterterrorism, listening to Johnny talk about his military experience is a crash course in preparing for what can go wrong—or already has. Planning for Worst Case Scenarios Ortega’s last deployment was to Somalia to serve as the Horn of Africa Safety Manager, where he conducted safety inspections and accident investigations. Back in New Jersey, Ortega worked as the National Guard’s liaison with the Office of Emergency Management when Hurricane Ida struck. When things aren’t going wrong (so-called “Blue Sky Operations”) Ortega helps plan safety trainings. He described an upcoming simulation in Newark that will necessitate cyber security and hazmat skills, and possibly many causalities. Intended as an exercise on communication between private and public sectors, most people’s nightmare is just another day on the job for Major Ortega. And Planning for What’s Next Despite all this experience, Ortega couldn’t stop thinking about the one experience he didn’t have: attending graduate school. But it isn’t always easy to squeeze in classes between his National Guard responsibilities. Nonetheless, Ortega decided to make it a priority, and with the help of his superiors in the National Guard and Program Director Koshy Koshy, has been able to check off the requirements for a Master’s Degree in Occupational Safety and Health. With retirement from the military on the horizon, Ortega is thinking about what will come next. He wants to be able to help formerly incarcerated individuals get their OSHA training and find employment. He also knows there is a big need for Spanish-speaking OSHA trainers in the construction field, and is eager to complete the Center’s OSHA Outreach Trainer course. Even with Ortega’s impressive background, he says one of the best things about taking classes at the Center is his fellow students. “You meet so many great individuals from all variety of industries: electrical, PSEG, plumbing, and sewage. Picking their brains and networking is fascinating… All the students share the same passion for safety. It’s a pretty tight knit culture. It’s fascinating to talk to students and the knowledge they bring.” Safe to say that wherever Ortega goes from here, it will be with plenty of knowledge and passion of his own.
I’ve taken a wide range of courses. Dr. Koshy has been very instrumental and he understands my passion for safety and my goals to become the best safety professional I can be. Anytime there’s a training available he lets me know, and if my schedule permits I take it. ”
- Major Johnny Ortega Safety Officer, National Guard Emergency Management Liasion, Army National Guard
the knowledge they bring.” “
You meet so many great individuals from all variety of industries.… All the students share the same passion for safety. It’s a pretty tight knit culture. It’s fascinating to talk to students and
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- Major Johnny Ortega, Army National Guard
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