Lieutenant Colonel C. Nicole Johansen is a native of Long Island, NY, and was commissioned in the Marine Corps on August 16, 2002. As a Logistics Officer, her first duty station was as the Maintenance Management Officer (MMO) for Marine Wing Support Squadron 371 (MWSS 371) in Yuma, AZ. During her tenure there she participated in the winter Marine Officer Staff Planner’s Course (MOSPC) in Bridgeport, CA, deployed as the detachment Officer-in-Charge to Kuwait with a detachment of drivers to offload Maritime Prepositioning Ships (MPS), and deployed with the entire unit to Al Taqaddum, Iraq as the MMO, Supply Officer, and took over as the Embarkation Officer for the squadron’s redeployment of all personnel and equipment.
In 2005-06 she was assigned as the Executive Officer of Combat Logistics Company 115 and deployed to Fallujah, Iraq, to support Regimental Combat Team 5. Upon returning stateside she was assigned to Landing Support Company, Combat Logistics Regiment-17, and held the billets of Air Delivery Platoon Commander, Executive Officer, and Company Commander. She then became the Regimental Logistics Officer/ Safety Officer/ Motor Transport Officer for CLR-17 until departing active duty in January 2008.
In May 2008, Captain Johansen joined 4th Medical Battalion. She served as a Detachment Commander, mobilized for 6 months as Exercise Support Officer (ADOS), and was the Headquarters & Service Company Commander. July 2011 – July 2014 Captain Johansen joined Marine Forces Pacific G-4 as an Assistant Movement Control Liaison Officer and supported exercises such as Keen Edge, Key Resolve, and Talisman Sabre. July 2014 - October 2015 she dropped to the IRR until joining Recruiting Station New York as a Recruiting Support Officer until November 2018, when Major Johansen joined MWSS-472 as the Operations Officer until January 2020. From January 2020 until July 2021, Lieutenant Colonel Johansen joined Manpower and Reserve Affairs as a Career Counselor, where she returned as the Operations Officer post-command of MWSS-472 which she held from July 30, 2021 to August 5, 2023. She is currently the Executive Officer of Marine Aircraft Group 49.
Lieutenant Colonel Johansen’s personal awards include one Meritorious Service Medal, three Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals. Lieutenant Colonel Johansen holds a B.B.A. in International Business/ Spanish from Loyola College, an MBA from the University of Southern California, and an M.S. in Human Resource Management and Development from New York University. She is currently enrolled in the U.S. Army War College Distance Education Program working towards a Master of Strategic Studies.