It's 21:00 in Kabul when Colonel Dr. Jay Johannigman '79 emails in response to the latest Lambda DKE e-letter. He's back on active duty as the medical advisor to the Commander of Forces for Operation Resolute Support, splitting his time between headquarters in Kabul and the large combat support hospital at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
"My military experience has been rich and full," Jay says. And he says it all got its start back at Lambda DKE.
"I was a bit socially awkward and somewhat of a nerdy pre-med but for some reason, the DKEs took me under their wing," Jay says, "They provided a much-enjoyed and needed social connection to campus."
He fondly remembers those early days as a pledge, spending time with big brother Bill Geist '76 in the studio while Bill did his show on the College Radio Station. "I used to pull records—yes, actual vinyl records—for him to play," Dr. Joannigman says.
Jay Johannigman pledged to DKE, making quick friends with Peter Bianchi '78, Jeff Spear '78, Bill Geist '76, Joe Hagin '78, Dave Andrews '79, and Rob Mitchell. But he didn't bunk down in the West Wing... for a very important reason. With help from fellow DKE and big brother Joe Hagin '78, he joined the volunteer fire department and lived in a house with other students who were also firefighters. "Joining the fire department was important to my future as a physician who would specialize in trauma surgery," he says.
He stayed very busy with studies, the fraternity, and his work with the fire department, but there was still plenty of time to make memories. "My favorite story is of living in a very worn down house that was owned by the college. It was split into living quarters for the students who were in the volunteer fire department. During my years, I shared that space with fellow DKE brothers and firefighters Rob 'Skinny' Mitchell, Dave Andrews '79, and Alex House '80."
"The story is still not printable in full detail, but I can tell you that one wintery morning, we were experiencing a heavy snowfall when Alex House '80 saw something from his second-story window. He noticed one of the townspeople (who also worked with us in the fire department) heading to the front door of our apartment with a bulldozer load full of snow, intent on blocking us into the house by dumping the snow into our stairwell. Somehow a pyrotechnic device mysteriously launched itself from somewhere in the vicinity of the second story of our house and landed on the seat of the bulldozer. The now-driverless bulldozer bounced into the side of the house and it took a bit of creative carpentry and expansive storytelling to divert attention from that portion of the house."
Jay Johannigman says that DKE made a lasting impact on his life. "It helped me shape the bonds of brotherhood and learn to help others," he says. After graduating from Kenyon, he went to medical school. To finance his training, he accepted a military medical school scholarship into the Air Force. In return, he served four years of active duty upon completion of medical school and residency training.
He served in the first Gulf War and was in the Pentagon on September 12th, 2001, as part of the Surgeon's medical response team. Over the years, he's continued to serve primarily in the reserve of the military. In all, he's served on eight combat medical tours to both Iraq and Afghanistan, along with a few off-the-map locations.
Today, Dr. Johannigman is back in Afghanistan, where he serves as a medical advisor and a flight surgeon. "Weighing in my support and HUA's from the Afghanistan theater," he writes in response to the news that Lambda DKE has been reinstated. "I'm proud to be a DKE."
