My Complete Bio
With both the FINRA Election of a Small Firm Governor process and the Press Release from the Financial Professionals Coalition, I had to limit my bio to 500 words. Here is my complete bio. It’s basically my “What did you do in the war, Daddy” story along with some of the things I have done in my career as a Registered Rep. Nowadays, “Stolen Valor” is a BIG deal in the veteran community, so I have endeavored to be extremely accurate in regard to what I did and what I earned during my seven deployments during the Global War on Terror (GWOT) from 2001 to 2011 and my two deployments as a Military Planner/Independent Contractor in Afghanistan from 2013 to 2014.
ELTON JOHNSON, JR. BIO
Elton Johnson, Jr., Non-Executive Chairman of Amerivet Securities, Inc., has been a Registered Representative since October 1977. He currently holds the following securities licenses: Series 4, 7, 14, 24, 27, 52, 53, 57, 63, 65, 79, and 99. He also held a Series 3 and a Series 30 (commodities licenses) that lapsed while on active, military service during the Global War on Terror (GWOT).
Elton Johnson, Jr., is a 1976 graduate of the University of Notre Dame (same class as Rudy from the movie) where he was (1) a Notre Dame Scholar, (2) a Hall President and (3) Chairman of the Hall Presidents’ Council (HPC) (He also tried to walk on to the football team his senior year but was told to leave after 20 minutes!). He majored in finance, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in business administration. He is currently enrolled in American Military University (AMU) where he is pursuing his master’s in business administration with an emphasis on entrepreneurship.
Elton Johnson, Jr., currently a Lieutenant Colonel in the Infantry Branch (Airborne Infantry) in the U.S. Army Retired Reserves (USARR), still subject to active-duty military recall, has had a long, continuing, distinguished military career.
It began immediately after graduating from college, with his enlisting in the United States Marine Corps Reserve (USMCR). He served in the 4th Marine Division as an artilleryman for two years before he obtained a conditional release and a lateral transfer to the U.S. Army in order to volunteer for U.S. Army Special Forces training ("Green Berets"). He served in the 19th Special Forces Group (Airborne) and the 12th Special Forces Group (Airborne) where he was trained as a Communications Specialist and cross-trained as a Heavy Weapons Specialist (He spent five years in U.S. Army Special Forces as an enlisted man and five years as an officer; however, he did not complete the Special Forces Qualification Course, so he is not a Green Beret). In 1985, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Armor Branch and later transferred to the Infantry Branch.
After 9/11, he was immediately called up for active military service and served two tours of combat duty in Iraq and one tour of combat duty in Afghanistan (along with four deployments to non-combat zones (Qatar, Kuwait, Germany, and Fort Irwin, CA) for a total of seven deployments during the Global War on Terror). His military awards include the Bronze Star Medal (the fourth highest US military award), the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, and the US Army Combat Action Badge (CAB). As a US Army paratrooper, he also earned Canadian and Afghan Paratrooper Jump Wings. He is a disabled U.S. veteran, having been injured on his 65th parachute jump.
He is an advocate for veterans' rights. In 2010, he was the motivating force behind the passage of a California law that assisted California citizen-military service members in maintaining their businesses while deployed on active military duty (This law became known as "Major Johnson's law". He is now working with his US Congressman to create an official Bronze Star Medal Day (an official Day of Recognition for all US military service members who are recipients of the Bronze Star Medal). He is also a licensed California Private Investigator which was a contributing factor in his doing some “special work” for the US Department of Defense as an Independent Contractor/Military Planner in Afghanistan in 2013 and 2014 (which also led to his being wounded in Kabul in August 2014).
Elton Johnson, Jr. holds several unique “Firsts” in the securities industry. His BD, AmeriVet Securities, Inc., was the fourth FINRA member to become certified as a Service Disabled Veteran Owned Business (SDVOB) once SDVOBs became a Special Business Category in California (But AmeriVet was the first SDVOB FINRA member owned by a non-Vietnam vet). He was the first Main Principal since WW2 to have his BD placed in an inactive status after he was called up for active military duty due to a war. He is the first and only Main Principal to operate a BD from a combat zone (Iraq and Afghanistan). And he is the first and only Main Principal to actively engage in
combat while operating a BD (Iraq, 2004).
He was the FINRA member who initiated and pushed the Truth, Transparency, Accountability Initiative (TTAI) in the 2010 FINRA election. The TTAI had 8 proposals and a slate of three candidates for the three board positions for Small FINRA Members. All three candidates were elected. Elton Johnson, Jr., has known and worked with either one or more Governors for small FINRA members since 2010.
LTC Elton Johnson, Jr.