DictionaryBy Adam "MOOP" Johns | U.S.M.C. Ministries
After 20+ years of service to the United States Marine Corps, I hung up the uniform. Not because the fight was over - but because God had a different mission.
What MOOP Means
"MOOP" - Marine On Own Program - was a call sign I earned in service. It started as a joke, maybe even a jab. The guy who does things his own way. The Marine who questions the system. The one who stirs the pot.
But somewhere along the way, it became something else. It became a declaration: I'm on God's program now. Not the institution's. Not the culture's. Not my own. His.
The Johns men have a way of stirring the pot. My Uncle Joe - a chaplain who served in both the Royal Canadian Navy and Royal Australian Air Force - spent nearly two decades fighting institutional corruption after trying to do the right thing. His story made The Guardian and became part of the Royal Commission into Defence and Veteran Suicide. The man was investigated for being a whistleblower. Sound familiar?
My own last year in the Corps had its share of turbulence. An investigation for "extremism" - the kind of thing that happens when you hold convictions in an institution that's drifting from its foundations. But I learned something through it all: the human heart is an idol factory (John Calvin said that, but Ezekiel 36:26 is the prescription). Not everyone takes well to the Divine Heart Transplant.
The Ceremony
The retirement ceremony was a moment I'll never forget. Standing there with Maria and the boys, surrounded by brothers who'd served alongside me, hearing the words that close out a career - it hits different when you know what comes next isn't retirement. It's redeployment.
I'm grateful for God's goodness throughout my career, but especially for keeping my family safe and together all these years. That's the real medal. That's the real honor. A wife who stayed. Sons who are growing into men. A daughter who lights up every room. Twenty years of service, and the greatest thing I brought home wasn't a rank - it was a family still intact.
From Service to Ministry
The Marine Corps taught me discipline, sacrifice, leadership under fire, and how to function on no sleep and bad coffee. But God was doing something deeper the whole time. He was forging a minister.
When I founded U.S.M.C. Ministries - Uniting, Serving, Mentoring & Counseling - I didn't leave the Corps behind. I brought everything I learned into a new theater of operations:
- Uniting men around Christ, not just camaraderie
- Serving families, not just mission objectives
- Mentoring husbands and fathers, not just subordinates
- Counseling through Scripture and relationship, not just programs
The mission didn't end. The uniform changed.
Trust and Redemption
Despite everything - the politics, the investigations, the institutional friction - I'm still very trusting of individuals. I believe in the principles Steven Covey wrote about in The Speed of Trust. I like the fast-paced life. We have to redeem the time in these evil days (Ephesians 5:14-16).
And when betrayal comes - because it will - I don't need vengeance. Unlike Maximus in Gladiator, I don't need to have my vengeance "in this life or the next." Vengeance belongs to the Lord. He handles the recompense (Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19-21).
I just need to keep my eyes on Him. He suffered way more than I'll ever have to (2 Chronicles 20:12; Hebrews 12:2-3).
What Comes Next
Today, I lead from Fredericksburg, Virginia - not from a command post, but from a home. I mentor men through the Five-Front War framework: Heart, Spirit, Body, Provision, Mind. I built the Watchman's Bible Reading Plan to structure daily Scripture engagement for men who lead families. I'm pursuing ordination through the Christian Leaders Alliance and certification through SYMBIS and PREPARE/ENRICH to counsel marriages.
The call sign stuck. MOOP - Marine On Own Program. But it's not my program anymore.
It's His. And it always was.
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith." - 2 Timothy 4:7 (NKJV)
Adam "MOOP" Johns is a Christ-following husband and father, retired US Marine, military aviator, and combat veteran (21 years of service), NASM-certified personal trainer, and men's discipleship coach who has been investing in the formation of men for over 25 years. He holds an M.Div. from Liberty University and founded U.S.M.C. Ministries — Uniting, Serving, Mentoring & Counseling — in Fredericksburg, VA.
Learn more about Adam → About the Founder
The Watchman's Bible Reading Plan | MOOP's Chronological Bible