Captain Mark Sohaney enlisted as a sonar technician in 1987. He served aboard USS Lake Champlain (CG 57) homeported in San Diego, California. He deployed to the Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf in support of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. In 1993 he was selected for a commissioning program at NROTC San Diego, graduating from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Economics, Summa Cum Laude. He was designated a Naval Flight Officer (NFO) May 1997.
Operationally, Sohaney reported to Patrol Squadron (VP) 47 stationed at Naval Air Station (NAS) Barbers Point, Hawaii. He served as personnel officer, readiness officer, and NFO training officer, deploying to U.S. Fifth and Seventh Fleets. He also served as the flag secretary to Commander, Carrier Strike Group 5, embarked aboard USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) forward-deployed in Japan. He served as a department head for VP-9 stationed at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii and deployed to Iraq as the Multi-National Force-Iraq Liaison Officer in Baghdad in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. As the Commanding Officer of VP-26 in NAS Jacksonville, Florida, he led the squadron on a successful U.S. Seventh Fleet deployment and earned the 2013 Commander, Naval Air Forces Atlantic Maritime Patrol Battle Efficiency Award for the second year in a row.
Ashore, Sohaney served as a Fleet Replacement Squadron instructor NFO for VP-30 at NAS Jacksonville, Florida. He qualified as a Weapons Tactics Instructor, fleet NATOPS evaluator, and was named Commander, Patrol and Reconnaissance Group NFO of the Year in 2003. He graduated from the Naval War College with a Master of Arts Degree in National Security and Strategic Studies. He served as the executive assistant to the Director for Strategic Planning and Policy (J-5) and country director for Australia and New Zealand at U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, Camp Smith, Hawaii. He also served as the Officer-in-Charge of the Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Force P-8A Fleet Introduction Team, an Acquisition Category I program for the first new maritime patrol aircraft in more than 50 years. In his last assignment, he served as the Director of Contingency Plans and then as the executive assistant to the Director of Maritime Operations at U.S. Pacific Fleet, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. Selected for Major Command Ashore in 2020, Captain Sohaney served as the Commanding Officer of Naval Air Station Key West, Florida. He reported in June 2022 as the Commanding Officer of Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii.
With more than 3,000 flight hours in the P-3C Orion and P-8A Poseidon, Sohaney holds many shipboard and aircraft qualifications. He has been awarded the Legion of Merit (two awards), Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal (two awards), Air Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medal (five awards), Army Commendation Medal, Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal, and various other personal and unit awards.
Last Updated: 9 May 2023