Administered by the Chancellery of Honours at Rideau Hall, the Meritorious Service Medal (military division) recognizes military deeds or activities performed in a highly professional manner or of a very high standard, bringing benefit or honour to the Canadian Forces. Military nominations are processed through the Department of National Defence and follow the chain of command in accordance with A-AD-200-000/AG-000—Honours, Flags and Heritage Structure of the Canadian Forces. The medal is part of the Meritorious Service Decorations, which also include a civil division.

Col Johnston (retired) has served with tireless dedication and selflessness as Colonel Commandant of the Electrical and Mechanical Engineering Branch of the Canadian Forces since 1991. He has researched and written two authoritative books on the history of the Branch, and developed the Branch’s Honour Roll. His visits across Canada and to soldiers deployed throughout the world, along with his participation in countless charitable and volunteer military support organizations, have been instrumental in bridging the gap between the sacrifices made by Canadian Forces veterans and today’s serving soldiers.

Canada Gazette Vol. 138, No. 46 — November 13, 2004. Colonel Johnston was born in 1933 and served for 31 years as a Regular Force officer from 1952 to 1983. From 1983 to 1991, he was the Director of the National Emergency Agency for Energy in the Department of Energy, Mines and Resources as well as the Canadian Representative to the NATO Petroleum Planning Committee. Appointed RCEME Colonel Commandant in 1991 he held the appointment for 13 years until May 15, 2004. A graduate of the Royal Military College of Canada and of the Canadian Army Staff College, he is a Registered Professional Engineer and holds a Bachelors Degree in Engineering from the University of Brutish Columbia and a Masters Degree in Automotive Engineering from the University of Michigan. His postings have included: NDHQ as Director Support Vehicles Engineering and Maintenance, Director of Program Plans and Team Leader in the DEVIL Maintenance System Working Group; 202 Workshop Depot as Commanding Officer; the International Commission for Control and Supervision (Vietnam 1973) as a Region Commander in the Mekong Delta; Headquarters Mobile Command as Senior Staff Officer Maintenance; Ottawa Militia District as GSO1; 4 Field Workshop(RCEME) in Germany as Recovery Platoon Officer and 2IC; the Land Engineering Test Establishment as a test engineer on the Bobcat and M113A1 Armoured Personnel Carriers; 2RCHA Light Aid Detachment as Commanding Officer and 213 Workshop(RCEME) in Winnipeg as Control Officer. He is a Past-President of; the Royal Military Colleges Club of Canada, the Friends of the Canadian War Museum and the RCEME Association and is a former Vice-Chairman of the Conference of Defence Associations. From 1997 to 2008, he was a Director of the Perley and Rideau Veterans’ Health Centre in Ottawa. Currently he is; a member of Branch 616 of the Royal Canadian Legion, a volunteer guide at the Canadian War Museum, President of the RCEME Association and the RCEME Branch Historian. In 2002 he was awarded a Queen’s Golden Jubilee Medal on the recommendation of the Royal Canadian Legion for his work on behalf of veterans and remembrance. In 2003, at the request of the RCEME soldiers in Bosnia, he was awarded a NATO SFOR medal in recognition of his 10 trips to the Balkans including Croatia, Kosovo and Bosnia to visit them. On 25 October 2004, the Governor-General awarded him the Meritorious Service Medal in the military division. In 2005 at the age of 72 he completed, for the fifth time, the fourday 160-kilometer Nijmegen Marches as part of the Canadian Military Contingent.