Mario Soto

Mario A. Soto is a native of Snellville, Georgia and is currently in his last year of training in Emergency Medicine at the Medical College of Georgia at Augusta University. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1999 and earned the rank of Major in the U.S. Army Special Forces before completing Medical School at East Tennessee State University Quillen College of Medicine in 2014. Mario deployed to Kosovo, Iraq, Colombia, Panama and Afghanistan in support of various military operations. His formal military education includes the Special Forces Detachment Officer’s Qualification Course, the Survival Evasion Rescue and Escape (High Risk) Level C Course, the Special Forces Combat Diver Qualification (SCUBA) Course, the Naval Special Warfare Dive Supervisor Course, and the Military Free Fall Parachutists (HALO) Course. Mario’s military awards and decorations include the Bronze Star Medal with “V” Device, the Army Commendation Medal with “V” Device, the Purple Heart and the Meritorious Service Medal. In his time away from the hospital, Mario enjoys skiing, skydiving, cycling and running. He is a Fellow in the Academy of Wilderness Medicine and completed his Diploma in Mountain Medicine in 2016. Upon graduation from residency, Mario has applied for the Army Austere and Wilderness Medicine fellowship at Ft. Lewis, Washington. He wishes to ultimately return to the Special Forces Regiment as a Battalion Surgeon.