Johnson recently retired after 32 years of service as a combat engineer. He was commanding general of the Army Corps of Engineers, Gulf Region division, from 2003-04, responsible for overseeing $18 billion of reconstruction in Iraq.
"Ron's wealth of leadership and management experience, together with his engineering expertise in areas such as systems analysis, processes, and operations, make him an ideal candidate to lead our officiating program," Stern said in a statement. "Our referees are the best in the world but they never stop striving to improve and Ron has made a career out of getting the very best out of people."
Stern defended his officials last month during the NBA finals after Donaghy's accusations of misconduct, including helping the league manipulate playoff results in 2002 and '05. The former referee is scheduled to be sentenced later this month for betting on games he officiated and taking cash payoffs from gambling associates.
