SEAL nominated to be new CINCSOC
- Thread starter Ex3
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In the US its normal for a former operator to get this kind of a gig.
In Poland, on the other hand, you get selected to command a SOF unit but you have practicly no earlier exp. with SOF.
In Poland, on the other hand, you get selected to command a SOF unit but you have practicly no earlier exp. with SOF.
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Boondocksaint375
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Special Ops nominee takes aim at terrorists
Admiral says his forces are focused on their mission
By LES BLUMENTHAL
McClatchy-Tribune
WASHINGTON — Navy Vice Adm. Eric Olson, nominated last week to lead the nation's Special Operations forces, said Thursday the U.S. Special Operations Command was not prepared to become the lead combat command for "planning and synchronizing" the war on terror after Sept. 11.
"Now we have our legs under us," said Olson, a Navy SEAL who won a Silver Star for his actions in Mogadishu in 1993. Olson said his forces are focused on capturing, killing and disrupting the "terrorists who wake up each day planning to do us harm."
Olson did not cite any specific missions, but did say that Osama bin Laden is likely hiding out in western Pakistan near the Afghan border. He said it was unclear how much day-to-day influence bin Laden has on al-Qaida operations.
The Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan, Olson said, puts that country in a precarious position.
"This is a long ways from being over," Olson told a group of Washington state business executives gathered by Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the House Armed Services' Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities, which has jurisdiction over the Special Operations Command. "I don't know what the trend is. I think this is a key moment in determining Afghanistan's future."
Olson is currently the deputy commander of the Special Operations Command, located at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. His nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.
Olson attended the U.S. Naval Academy and qualified as naval special warfare officer in 1974. He is fluent in Arabic, has been stationed in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia and served with U.N. peacekeeping forces in Israel, Lebanon and Egypt.
Olson was among four Navy SEALs who received the Silver Star for their actions in Somalia, chronicled in the book and movie Black Hawk Down. Under fire from automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, they helped rescue and evacuate the wounded
Admiral says his forces are focused on their mission
By LES BLUMENTHAL
McClatchy-Tribune
WASHINGTON — Navy Vice Adm. Eric Olson, nominated last week to lead the nation's Special Operations forces, said Thursday the U.S. Special Operations Command was not prepared to become the lead combat command for "planning and synchronizing" the war on terror after Sept. 11.
"Now we have our legs under us," said Olson, a Navy SEAL who won a Silver Star for his actions in Mogadishu in 1993. Olson said his forces are focused on capturing, killing and disrupting the "terrorists who wake up each day planning to do us harm."
Olson did not cite any specific missions, but did say that Osama bin Laden is likely hiding out in western Pakistan near the Afghan border. He said it was unclear how much day-to-day influence bin Laden has on al-Qaida operations.
The Taliban's resurgence in Afghanistan, Olson said, puts that country in a precarious position.
"This is a long ways from being over," Olson told a group of Washington state business executives gathered by Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the House Armed Services' Subcommittee on Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities, which has jurisdiction over the Special Operations Command. "I don't know what the trend is. I think this is a key moment in determining Afghanistan's future."
Olson is currently the deputy commander of the Special Operations Command, located at MacDill Air Force Base in Florida. His nomination must be confirmed by the Senate.
Olson attended the U.S. Naval Academy and qualified as naval special warfare officer in 1974. He is fluent in Arabic, has been stationed in Saudi Arabia and Tunisia and served with U.N. peacekeeping forces in Israel, Lebanon and Egypt.
Olson was among four Navy SEALs who received the Silver Star for their actions in Somalia, chronicled in the book and movie Black Hawk Down. Under fire from automatic weapons and rocket-propelled grenades, they helped rescue and evacuate the wounded
