Posted by 1LT JT Townsend on February 20, 2001:

In Memory of MAJ O The following is a recollection concerning one of the greatest mentors anyone has had the pleasure of learning from. They reflect love for a man who had a profound effect on some talented people. Please accept this humble attempt at the almost insurmountable task of capturing the wonderful character of MAJ Olson, father, husband, West Point Tac and Army Officer. I was fortunate enough to be affected by MAJ Olson from the beginning as I first started to seriously think about leadership. Summer of '97 -- Yearling year was over, and I was the 1SG for a fist detail Beast company. We had finished T-cubed, the cadre's preparation and rehearsal for Cadet Basic Training, and it was about a week into the detail. MAJ Olson was there as the assistant TAC, and until now had merely been an active observer more than anything else. Despite any doubts we had as to what MAJ O's participation would be that detail, his mentorship for the following three weeks will forever underlie any of my success as a leader. Up until this point in Beast our company hadn't gelled. Teamwork and creativity had yielded entirely to the hard-line efficiency of our head tactical officer, MAJ Rice. MAJ Rice's expectations of perfection and ultimate concern for the New Cadet's well-being were a fair but tough lesson. Our inexperience as leaders overshadowed our heart-felt efforts. As cadre we had neither the composure nor understanding to strike the balance needed to generate the well-oiled machine that MAJ Rice expected, and it was breaking the back of the company. This is the critical point where MAJ Olson's mentorship saved our efforts and fused the company. It was a day of standard Army classes for the New Cadets, and we had marched them to a training area where NCO's from the 10th Mountain were going to teach them classes on lyme disease, hydration, and a host of other medically related subjects. The OIC for the sight dismissed the cadre and told us to return for the New Cadets in three hours. Five of us, Darren Souza('98), Tony Felice('98), Eric Benting('99), Brad Prugh('98), and myself all hunkered into a clearing 500 meters from the New Cadets and began talking about the company's problems. MAJ O strolled in and mingled subtly into the group. He let us talk for about five more minutes until someone cracked a joke. Sensing his opportunity, MAJ O easily started into stories from his spring breaks as a cadet and of his times on the Army hockey team. We all laughed and added a few of our own stories, all the while letting the downfalls of the past few weeks fall behind. This ten-minute round of storytelling easily turned into a full out 2 and a half hour bull session, and with ten minutes left before having to form the New Cadets for movement, MAJ Olson revealed the motivation behind taking our minds off of the problems. "You see what you guys are doing?" he asked confidently. "This is important to you as leaders and peers. I've been watching you spin your wheels for two weeks without ever regrouping or revaluating your plan. You're working hard, yeah, but you've let confidence and thought fall by the wayside. Any negativity you feel towards MAJ Rice is wrong. You shouldn't be angry because he expects perfection and hard work. Get angry because you've let that hard work fall by the wayside because it wasn't well thought out or rehearsed. Take these times away from your subordinates to regain your composure, rehearse your plans, and examine whether or not your energy is being used where it should." Few words I have seen in action have had such an immediate impact. Brad Prugh became the type of planner that could have worked in the toughest three shop in the Army. Tony Felice brought together his cadet squad leaders instantly that night by conveying MAJ O's words, and within days the company had fused into the efficient, Lambardy-like machine that MAJ Rice hoped we would. Along with precious memories of advice sessions that MAJ O and MAJ Eric Kail provided J Kohowski and I as cadet company commanders, MAJ Olson's words in that glen will remain with me forever. It was the beginning of my development as a leader and my confindence in that endeavor constantly improves as I attempt to emulate his demeanor. The fact that MAJ Olson and MAJ Kail were the two officers at West Point that I admired most, lead me to branch Artillery and motivated me through Ranger School. MAJ Olson was the first person I asked for advice if MAJ Kail (my tactical officer) was gone, and MAJ Olson's lessons were the fuel that began my evolution from stuttering Yearling to competent lieutenant. The world will mourn, as it should, for the loss of a great man. Everything touched by MAJ O is worse off due to his absence. What should remain at the forefront of our minds, though, is that all of these things that yearn for his return are infinitely better off from just one minute of his epic presence. 1LT JT Townsend Raging Bull Cadre '97 G-2 '98-'99 Class of '99

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