Avery Johnson (Earth-4001)

Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson (SN: 48789-20114-AJ) was a senior non-commissioned officer of the UNSC Marine Corps who served during in the fight against the Insurrection and the Human-Covenant War. Johnson was a highly trained marine, who also served with various units of the Naval Special Warfare Command, most notably the highly classified ORION Project, the UNSC's first super-soldier program.

Johnson played a vital role over the course of the Covenant War. He resisted the Covenant's attack on Harvest at the outbreak of the war and went on to participate in numerous engagements. In the war's final months Johnson fought during the Fall of Reach, on Installation 04, at Earth, on Installation 05, and on the Ark and Installation 08. He was key to the formation of an alliance between humanity and Thel 'Vadam and the Fleet of Retribution following the Great Schism in November 2552. Ultimately, Sergeant Major Johnson was killed by monitor 343 Guilty Spark while attempting to prematurely activate Installation 08.

History
The history of Avery Johnson is the same as his mainstream counterpart.

Personality
Avery Johnson's behavior was often eccentric, delivering bizarre and outlandish speeches to boost the morale of those serving under him. However, as shown in Contact Harvest, he also was a no-nonsense NCO who cared deeply for the lives of his troops. Johnson believed in pushing his soldiers to their limit in training, in order to give them a better chance of surviving real combat.

He was best known for his typical "gung-ho" attitude towards life, personal goals, and as a leader to his fellow Marines. This earned him a reputation, respect, and admiration from his subordinates and superiors alike. Johnson was a noted fan of "flip music", a style of music similar to the heavy metal from the 21st century. He was also known as being one of a select few outside of the SPARTAN-II Program to befriend Master Chief Petty Officer John-117, a soldier with whom he fought alongside many times throughout the final months of the Human-Covenant War; ultimately dying in his arms after being critically injured. He has a large amount of respect for the Spartan IIs, and appears to respect every human fighting for humanity, as well as the Sangheili when they joined forces with the UNSC. In return, Thel 'Vadam respects him as well as after his death, offering condolences to John, "I am sorry, Spartan" and "even in death, your Sergeant guides us all."

In Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, Johnson seemed energetic and well-humored, often cracking jokes, puns, and insults at the expense of the Covenant or even in response to UNSC transmissions.

Age & Apperance
Johnson's age is affected by the same ambiguities as all beings who undergo extended voyages through space. Born in the late 2400s, chronologically Johnson would have been over 70 years old at the time of his death in 2552. He has spent much of his life in cryosleep. Cellular activity is slowed to near standstill in cryosleep, effectively halting the aging process. As a result, Johnson's biological age is significantly less than his chronological age as measured by Terran chronology. His ORION augmentations likely played a part in this as well, as they were known to have extended the active service careers of many of the program's former members.

Decorations
Johnson has received three known medals in his service: The Colonial Cross and the Purple Heart, as well as the UNSC Legion of Honor, which may have been a posthumous decoration. Johnson was not awarded any medals during his time with the ORION detachment, due to the sensitive nature of its missions.

Trivia

 * Johnson was the first human to kill a member of the Covenant. He also witnessed Truth's death, making him the only human to have personally witnessed both the beginning and the end of the Human-Covenant War.
 * Johnson may have been married: According to a quote during gameplay on the level "Cairo Station", Johnson says that the Covenant are "worse than [his] mother-in-law." In Halo: Contact Harvest, Johnson was involved in a romantic relationship with his commanding officer, Jilan al-Cygni, leading fans to theorize that the two were married at some point.
 * Johnson was fond of Sweet William cigars.