Mark D. Johnson, Deputy Administrator

Image

Deputy Administrator

Maritime Administration (MARAD)

U.S. Department of Transportation

Colonel Mark D. Johnson, U.S. Air Force (retired), is the deputy administrator of the Maritime Administration (MARAD) at the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Prior to joining MARAD, Mark Johnson served as the U.S. air attaché to Thailand beginning in September 2020. During his time at the U.S. Embassy in Thailand, he also served as the defense attaché, chief of operations and C-12 instructor pilot.

He graduated cum laude from the United States Merchant Marine Academy in 1996 with a third mate’s license. Entering active duty, he attended navigator training and flew the KC-135. He attended pilot training and following 9-11 flew the B-1 bomber. He deployed several times in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom as an aircraft commander, flight safety officer, assistant director of operations and instructor pilot. He was later selected to lead B-1 distributed mission operations and facilitate advances in B-1 operational training.

Mark Johnson later served as chief of the Bomber/Airlift Standards and Evaluations Branch, and subsequently as deputy/acting chief of standards and evaluations for 12th Air Force headquarters, where he was responsible for maintaining standards across 12th Air Force and Air Forces Southern. Transitioning to a role as an air liaison officer and tactical air control party member, he became director of operations for the 3rd Air Support Operations Squadron in Alaska. He then commanded the 82nd Expeditionary Air Support Operations Squadron in Kuwait and served as air operations director and deputy director of joint operations at the Iraq Joint Operations Center in Baghdad at the start of Operation Inherent Resolve.

Upon returning to the United States, he was named deputy director of operations for 8th Air Force in Louisiana, supporting global bomber operations including assurance and deterrence missions through the Bomber Task Force. As the Air Force Global Precision Attack Core Function Team chief at Air Combat Command, he led the development of the Air Force's largest combat aircraft and weapons portfolio, valued at $20 billion annually.

Mark Johnson is a command pilot with more than 600 combat hours in support of Operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. His top decorations include the Bronze Star, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, Air Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Aerial Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster, Air Force Commendation Medal, and Air Force Achievement Medal with one oak leaf cluster.

He earned a Master of Business Administration in international business, graduating summa cum laude from Touro University International, and is a graduate of the Air War College. Returning to his maritime roots, he has volunteered as a licensed officer of the watch on medical ships in the Southwestern Pacific, delivering medical personnel and supplies to remote villages in Papua New Guinea.

Mark and his wife, Vanessa, live in Virginia. They have four sons, three of whom also graduated or study at the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. Their sons frequently visit while pursuing careers as marine engineers, sailing on their licenses, or serving on active duty.