Major General Sofge Jr. became the seventh Commander of U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Europe and Africa in 2023.
Headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany, he commands designated Marine Corps forces assigned or attached to U.S. European Command and U.S. Africa Command; advises both joint-service geographic combatant commanders, and other component commanders, on the capabilities and proper employment of U.S. Marine Corps forces; conducts planning in support of operations, exercises, and theater engagements; validates and facilitates the deployment, sustainment, and redeployment of all designated forces; and sets conditions through naval integration to rapidly establish the Joint Force Maritime Component Command during crisis or contingency in order to accomplish assigned missions and tasks.
As a General Officer, he most recently served as the Director for Strategy, Plans, and Policy (UCJ5), United Nations Command/Combined Forces Command/U.S. Forces Korea. Major General Sofge has also served as the Deputy Commander for Marine Corps Forces, Pacific in Hawaii; Deputy Commanding General for Operations, Combined/Joint Forces Land Component Command during Operation INHERENT RESOLVE; Director of the Combined Joint Operations Center in Baghdad, Iraq; and as the Assistant Wing Commander, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing in Miramar, CA.
Enlisting in the Marine Corps in 1982, Major General Sofge served with the 3rd Force Service Support Group in Okinawa, Japan, and subsequently deployed to Korea and the Philippines with the 33rd Marine Amphibious Unit before commissioning and designation as a Naval Aviator.
In the AV-8B Harrier, he has flown combat missions in Bosnia-Herzegovina, Kosovo, Kuwait, and Iraq from both shipboard and land bases, deploying with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) in support of Operations DECISIVE ENDEAVOR, DELIBERATE FORCE, and ALLIED FORCE. Major General Sofge has also deployed in support of Operations SOUTHERN WATCH and IRAQI FREEDOM, and with the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit. He has served as Commander of Marine Attack Squadron 311 and Marine Aircraft Group 14.
He has also filled multiple staff assignments at Headquarters Marine Corps including: Head of Aviation Plans, Policy and Budget, Department of Aviation; Strategic Assessments Branch, Programs and Resources; Weapons Systems Requirements Branch, Department of Aviation. He also served on the Joint Staff as a Defense Resource Analyst; as a Senior Watch Officer in the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing (FWD) Tactical Air Command Center in Al Asad, Iraq; and as a Weapons and Tactics Instructor at Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron 1.
Major General Sofge holds a Political Science degree from the U.S. Naval Academy, a Master of Business Administration from Touro University, and a Master of Strategic Studies from the U.S. Army War College. He has also completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. His personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, two Legion of Merit Medals, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, five Meritorious Service Medals, seven Air Medals, two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, and two Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals.