Eric T. Olson

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Eric T. Olson

Eric Thor Olson (born January 24, 1952 in Tacoma , Washington ) is a former admiral in the US Navy and was Commander of the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) from July 9, 2007 to 2011 .

Military career

Olson graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis , Maryland in 1973 . He was then trained as an officer for special warfare ( Naval Special Warfare officer ) and served in a combat diving team ( Underwater Demolition Team ), a SEAL team , a SEAL delivery vehicle team , a special boat squadron and in the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group . He also served as a SEAL instructor, strategy - and tactics development officer and as JSOC - staff officer . His missions abroad include activities as a UN military observer in Israel and Egypt , as well as a naval liaison officer in Tunisia .

In October 1993, Olson was deployed in a leadership position during the urban fighting in the Battle of Mogadishu , Somalia . After two MH-60 "Black Hawks" crashed in enemy fire, Olson helped organize the rescue operation and then led a rescue team to one of the crash sites. This night mission became known as the Mogadishu Mile , in reference to the distance the rescue team had to travel to recover the injured. Olson was awarded the Silver Star for this.

Olson has commanded subordinates at every level of command, from platoon commander on a SEAL platoon to commander in US Naval Special Warfare Command . He also served as an assistant to the Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for planning, strategy and operations. From 1994 to 1997 he commanded the US Naval Special Warfare Development Group , the formerly secret anti-terrorist command SEAL Team Six . In 1999 he took over the post of highest SEAL himself, namely command of the US Naval Special Warfare Command in Coronado , California .

From August 2003 to July 2007, Olson was the deputy commander of the US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM). On May 10, 2007 US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates nominated him as successor to General Bryan D. Brown and thus as commander of the USSOCOM. After this nomination from the Armed Services Committee of the US Senate confirmed Olson took over on July 9, 2007, the command of General Brown. This makes him the first US Navy SEAL to achieve the rank of admiral and the first naval officer to command the USSOCOM. On August 22, 2011, he resigned from active service.

Others

He holds a Master of Arts in National Security Relations from the Naval Postgraduate School . He is married and has two children.

Awards

Selection of decorations, sorted based on the Order of Precedence of Military Awards :

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  1. ↑ Flag and General Officer Announcements (defenselink.mil, May 10, 2007)
  2. ↑ Navy Admiral Takes Helm of US Special Ops Command (DoD.mil, July 9, 2007; English)
  3. ↑ New SOCom CO says bureaucracy hurts terror war ( memento of the original from June 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. (MarineCorpsTimes.com, June 12, 2007; English)  @1@ 2Template: Webachiv / IABot / www.marinecorpstimes.com

Web links

Commons : Eric T. Olson  - Collection of images, videos and audio files
personal data
SURNAME Olson, Eric T.
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Olson, Eric Thor
BRIEF DESCRIPTION American admiral, commander of the US Special Operations Command
DATE OF BIRTH January 24, 1952
PLACE OF BIRTH Tacoma , Washington