Another in a series on members of the U.S. armed services who have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan.

Marine Lance Corporal Brian Johnson of Adams Village recently completed a seven-month tour in Afghanistan and is now stationed in Cherry Point, NC, with the 2nd Low Altitude Air Defense Battalion. His primary assignment is to operate the stinger missile, a personal, portable, infrared, homing, surface-to-air missile that can be used from ground vehicles and helicopters.

Last year, Cpl. Johnson, who signed up in September 2008, was deployed to Forward Operating Base Delaram in Afghanistan where he was given base security responsibilities, which meant running the entry control point and manning the towers around the base. He also went along as a turret machine gunner on daily patrols through the city and surrounding areas, where he experienced a few firefights and some indirect fire, consisting mostly of mortar rounds being shot at the base.

“I just wanted to go over there and do my part,” Johnson told the Reporter. “You do realize you’re making a difference day by day.” … “It’s tough and you get tired and worn out a lot but you just got to take it one day at a time over there.” Added Brian’s brother Steve: “Brian never lets anything stand in the way of his goals, so I knew he’d take care of business and be back home soon. … They were lucky to get him. Brian is the most passionate and committed person I know.”

As for their mother Eileen, she felt the way most mothers would: “When Brian told me he was going to Afghanistan, I knew the Marines had trained him for this deployment, but it didn’t make it any easier.  He left for Afghanistan on his 21st birthday. I am very proud of Brian. Like other mothers, all you can do is pray for them and for their safe return home.”

“My first thought,” she said, “was, oh, no, I don’t want him to go to the battlefield.  Yet, I knew it was the best decision for him. When he was in boot camp he was the platoon leader for 9 of the 14 weeks.  His leadership earned him a promotion to Private First Class.  He was very proud of himself, and as he should have been. He earned this promotion the old-fashioned way.”

One of those who went to that boot camp with Brian was his best friend, Robert Flynn, who recently survived his truck setting off an improvised explosive device (IED) during his second tour in Afghanistan. Johnson was glad Rob survived. “It was very frightening getting that news because I know first hand how big IED’s can be and the effects it can have on people riding in the truck.”

Johnson grew up in Dorchester playing many sports, including Youth Hockey and Cedar Grove Baseball, which is where he made most of his friends. “The thing about growing up in Dorchester is you always know that your friends are going to have your back through the thick and thin of it and it’s a place where your best friend’s mom cares just as much about you as your own mom does.”

As evidence of that, he has had tremendous support from his friends and family who regularly sent him care packages. “Being away from family and friends is tough,” he said, “ but after you get through the first month, you get the hang of it and you just worry about getting you and the guy next to you back to our families.”

Johnson was laughing when he said, “What I really missed the most was not being able to get a steak tip sub from Ashmont Market and the cool weather back home when I was dealing with temperatures around 130 degrees.”

Brian took something else from Dorchester down to North Carolina, his girlfriend, Aoife O’Leary. They have been together since he enlisted and have a house in Havelock, NC. “It isn’t the easiest thing being in a relationship with someone in the military,” says Aoife, “but at the same time there are things I get to experience that others don’t. Such as the feeling you get the day he gets home from boot camp and/or a deployment. Those days make all the long months of waiting seem worthwhile.”

Readers are invited to suggest the names of men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan as subjects for these reports.