Special Operations Change Of Command Comes At Somber Time For Socom

Posted Aug 7, 2011 by Howard Altman

Updated Aug 7, 2011 at 08:45 PM

Monday at noon, I will be at MacDill Air Force Base, watching the U.S. Special Operations Command change of command ceremony.

It is supposed to be a shining moment for the Navy SEALs.

Adm. Eric T. Olson, the first Navy SEAL ever to run U.S. Special Operations Command is stepping down, handing the reins to Adm. William McRaven, only the second SEAL ever to run the command.

But the closed ceremony, which will be attended by the Secretary of Defense among other dignitaries, comes at a very somber time for the SEALs and Socom. Three days earlier, 22 SEALs died in a helicopter crash in Wardak that killed 30 U.S. servicemembers in all and seven Afghan National Army commandos and a civilian interpreter. It was the largest one-day casualty total in the nearly 10-year war in Afghanistan and it was the bloodiest day in the history of Socom, created in 1987 in the wake of the failed Iranian hostage attempt.

McRaven was head of the Joint Special Operations Command, a Socom sub-command that oversaw the killing of Osama bin Laden.

Olson has been at Special Operations Command for nearly four years.

A native of Tacoma, Wash., Olson graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1973 and qualified as a Naval Special Warfare officer in 1974, according to his Navy bio. He has served operationally in an Underwater Demolition Team, SEAL Team, SEAL Delivery Vehicle Team, Special Boat Squadron, and at the Naval Special Warfare Development Group. He has commanded at every level.

McRaven assumed command of the Joint Special Operations Command on June 13, 2008. Prior to assuming command, he served from June 2006 to March 2008 as commander, Special Operations Command Europe. In addition to those duties, he was designated as the first director of the NATO Special Operations Forces Coordination Centre, where he was charged with enhancing the capabilities and inter-operability of all NATO Special Operations Forces.

McRaven has commanded at every level within the special operations community, including assignments as deputy commanding general for operations at Joint Special Operations Command, commodore of Naval Special Warfare Group 1, commander of SEAL Team 3, task group commander in the U.S. Central Command area of responsibility, task unit commander during Desert Storm and Desert Shield, squadron commander at Naval Special Warfare Development Group, and SEAL platoon commander at Underwater Demolition Team 21/SEAL Team 4.

In an interview shortly after bin Laden was killed, Ryan Zinke, a former SEAL Team 6 member who knows both men, said Socom has thrived under Olson and will continue to do so under McRaven.

“It will be a good change,” said Zinke, now a state legislator in Montana. “Eric Olson has done a superb job by everyone’s account. I think senior leadership, in all the services, is very fond of Eric Olson.”

McRaven is an able replacement, said Zinke.

“He embraces technology,” said Zinke. “He has a superb mind. He is able to multitask, as he did. There is no doubt that success of the [bin Laden] mission had a lot to do with Bill McRaven.”

Special Operations Command ensures the readiness of joint special operations forces and, as directed, conducts operations worldwide. Joint Special Operations Command plans special operations missions.

During his testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee in February, Olson talked about his role commanding the Special Operations force of almost 60,000.

“I focus on developing and sustaining operational skills and capabilities, training and maintaining the quality of the force, caring for its families and ensuring that our people have the right equipment in sufficient quantities,” he said.