Paul Alan Sohl (born 1963) is a retired

rear admiral Rear admiral is a flag officer rank used by English-speaking navies. In most European navies, the equivalent rank is called counter admiral. Rear admiral is usually immediately senior to commodore and immediately below vice admiral. It is ...

in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

who served as Commander of the

Operational Test and Evaluation Force The Operational Test and Evaluation Force (OPTEVFOR) is an independent and objective agency within the United States Navy for the operational testing and evaluation (OT&E) of naval aviation, surface warfare, submarine warfare, C4I, cryptologi ...

Early life

Sohl is originally from

Waterloo, Iowa Waterloo is a city in and the county seat of Black Hawk County, Iowa, Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States. As of the 2020 United States census the population was 67,314, making it the List of cities in Iowa, eighth-most populous city in the st ...

. He holds a Bachelor of Science in

aeronautical engineering Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

from the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) is a Private university, private research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Established in 1861, MIT has played a significant role in the development of many areas of moder ...

and a Master of Science in aeronautical and

astronautical engineering Astronautics (or cosmonautics) is the practice of sending spacecraft beyond Earth's atmosphere into outer space. Spaceflight is one of its main applications and space science is its overarching field. The term ''astronautics'' (originally ''astr ...

from

Stanford University Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth ...

Naval career

Sohl was commissioned an officer via the

Naval Reserve Officers Training Corps The Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps (NROTC) program is a college-based, commissioned officer training program of the United States Navy and the United States Marine Corps. Origins A pilot Naval Reserve unit was established in September 1924 ...

and became a

Naval Aviator Naval aviation / Aeronaval is the application of military air power by navies, whether from warships that embark aircraft, or land bases. It often involves '' navalised aircraft'', specifically designed for naval use. Seaborne aviation encompas ...

in 1988. Following flight training and completion of the F/A-18C Fleet Replacement Squadron syllabus, he was assigned to Strike Fighter Squadron 113 (

VFA-113 Strike Fighter Squadron 113 (VFA-113), also known as the "Stingers," is a United States Navy strike fighter squadron based at Naval Air Station Lemoore, California. They are an operational fleet F/A-18E Super Hornet squadron attached to Carrier ...

), homeported at

NAS Lemoore Naval Air Station Lemoore or NAS Lemoore is a United States Navy base, located in Kings County, California, Kings County and Fresno County, California, Fresno County, California, United States. Lemoore Station, California, Lemoore Station, a cen ...

, California, during which time he was deployed during the

Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...

. In 1993, he graduated from the

United States Naval Test Pilot School The United States Naval Test Pilot School (USNTPS), located at Naval Air Station (NAS) Patuxent River in Patuxent River, Maryland, provides instruction to experienced United States Navy, Marine Corps, Army, Air Force, and foreign military experim ...

(USNTPS), a command in which he would later serve as the executive officer and commanding officer. Laterally transferring from being an Unrestricted Line (URL) officer to the Restricted Line as an Aeronautical Engineering Duty Officer (AEDO), he later served as executive officer and commanding officer of

Fleet Readiness Center Southeast Fleet Readiness Center Southeast is a U.S. Navy maintenance, repair and overhaul depot-level facility located onboard Naval Air Station Jacksonville with intermediate-level detachments at Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Naval Station Mayport and ...

(FRCSE) at

NAS Jacksonville Naval Air Station Jacksonville (NAS Jacksonville) is a large naval air station located approximately south of the central business district of Jacksonville, Florida, United States., effective 2007-10-25 Location NAS Jacksonville is located i ...

, Florida and Commander, Naval Test Wing Pacific. Other command positions Sohl has held include Commander of the

Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division Pacific Missile Test Center (PMTC) is the former name of the current Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division. The name of the center was the Naval Air Missile Test Center prior to PMTC. It is located at Naval Base Ventura County/Naval Air Stati ...

and Commander, Fleet Readiness Centers (COMFRC). He has also been deployed to serve in

Operation Enduring Freedom Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) was the official name used by the U.S. government for both the first stage (2001–2014) of the War in Afghanistan (2001–2021) and the larger-scale Global War on Terrorism. On 7 October 2001, in response ...

and was named Commander, Operational Test and Evaluation Force (COMOPTEVFOR) in 2016. Awards Sohl has received various personal awards, to include multiple awards of the

Legion of Merit The Legion of Merit (LOM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States military, military award of the United States Armed Forces that is given for exceptionally meritorious conduct in the performance of outstanding services and achievemen ...

, the

Defense Meritorious Service Medal The Defense Meritorious Service Medal (DMSM) is an award bestowed upon members of the United States military by the United States Department of Defense. In the order of precedence of the United States Armed Forces, it is worn between the Purple ...

, and the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: Singapore *Pingat Jasa Gemilang, or Meritorious Services Me ...

Business career

Paul Sohl is currently the Chief Executive Officer of The Florida High Tech Corridor.

References

External links

Official Navy Biography
1963 births Living people Place of birth missing (living people) People from Waterloo, Iowa MIT School of Engineering alumni Military personnel from Iowa United States Naval Aviators United States Navy personnel of the Gulf War Stanford University School of Engineering alumni United States Naval Test Pilot School alumni Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Navy rear admirals (upper half) {{US-navy-bio-stub