As Chairman of the SWPC and an Army general in the Ordnance Branch, Johnson had a tendency to overrule service branch requests for approval for production of specific military armament and ordnance items in favor of competing but less capable designs that could be made more rapidly or with lower material costs, freeing scarce but non-critical materials to small companies so that they could begin the transition to peacetime goods production. This infuriated Johnson's military superiors in the War Department, who realized that the diversion of materials to peacetime production meant less factory capacity for new weapons and increased production of war materiel just as victory seemed to be within the grasp of Allied forces. Unfazed, Johnson lost no opportunity in annoying his military superiors, frequently citing his business experience in support of his decisions.