Posted on: Saturday, May 28, 2005
MILITARY AFFAIRS
Schofield general promoted
Associated Press
Army Maj. Gen. Eric T. Olson has been appointed deputy commander of U.S. Pacific Command and promoted to the rank of lieutenant general, the Pentagon said yesterday.
He also served as the No. 2 U.S. commander in Afghanistan until March.
Olson will replace Vice Adm. Gary Roughead as deputy commander at Pacific Command's headquarters at Camp H.M. Smith, overlooking Pearl Harbor. Roughead has been nominated to be the commander of the Pacific Fleet.
Olson will be the first Army general to serve in the post since Maj. Gen. Ronald L. Lowe was acting deputy commander from June to August 2002. His appointment is subject to confirmation by the U.S. Senate.
Olson earned a master's degree in international relations from Johns Hopkins University. He has been awarded the Legion of Merit, the Bronze Star and the Defense Meritorious Service Medal.
The Army last month announced that Brig. Gen. Benjamin R. Mixon would replace Olson as commander at Schofield Barracks.
Earlier this year, Adm. William J. Fallon succeeded Adm. Thomas Fargo as commander of Pacific Command.
Pacific Command is the largest of the United States' nine unified military operations. Its commander leads 300,000 Army, Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force troops in an area of more than 100 million square miles that includes flash points such as North Korea, Taiwan and China.
Olson, commander of the 25th Infantry Division (Light) at Schofield Barracks since 2002, led 5,000 of the division's soldiers to Afghanistan last March in the group's largest single troop movement in history.
Eric Olson
