Olson looks at past, to future following 34-year AF career

  • Published
  • By By Patty Welsh
  • 66th Air Base Group Public Affairs
HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. --  As Maj. Gen. Craig S. Olson, program executive officer for Command, Control, Communications, Intelligence and Networks, prepares to retire from the Air Force after 34 years of service, he said he never anticipated the journey working out in the "amazing" way it has.

An interest in airplanes is what drew the young Olson to the Air Force Academy, but he said while there his attitude changed.

"I still wanted to fly," he said, "but for a more significant reason; my outlook had changed to one embracing patriotism and service."

And while he always wanted to make the Air Force his career, he wasn't sure he would be able to because of his poor grades and great difficulty in graduating from college in the first place. 

"I certainly didn't think I would be blessed with 34 years of service," he said. "If you talked to a then-Lieutenant Olson at the time and said here's where you're going to go, what you're going to do, planes you will fly, family you will have, places you will live, acquisition programs you will work on, people you will meet, I would have said, 'Wow, that sounds amazing, but it will never happen to me.'"

Olson has flown operationally as a weapon systems officer and electronic warfare officer in the F-4E and F-4G, and as a flight test weapon systems officer in the F-15E. His acquisition tours include the JSTARS Joint Program Office, the Air Staff Special Programs Directorate, and the Navy-led V-22 Joint Program Office.

In fact, working in the V-22 program office was where the general had one of the most difficult challenges of his career. However, it also led to some major accomplishments and turned out to be one of the most rewarding times of his career. When he arrived at Patuxent River, Maryland, in 2002, the program was in trouble and near cancellation. 

"I was put in the middle of that, and we had many different groups from the Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and industry who didn't trust each other," he said. "We had to build trust before the complex program issues could be fixed. By making trust a priority, my industry counterpart and I focused the team toward a common goal to the point of a successful production decision."

Relationships were also key when Olson was working foreign military sales in Iraq. He was not familiar with the language or all the products being sold. In addition, there were tensions between the countries as it was a year prior to the U.S. pulling out. He said he was fortunate to work with an interpreter who was not only able to translate from English to Arabic, but was also able to "get into my heart and mind" and translate his feelings, and that helped build the trust needed with senior Iraqi officials.

"Not only were we able to do phenomenal business, but we built life-long friendships."

Talking about his current C3I and Networks team, Olson said this group has also been able to build significant relationships and noted that the nearly four years he's been there has been the longest he's been with any team.

"In my more than 20 years in acquisition, this has been the most phenomenal leadership team I have ever worked with due to their patriotism, wisdom, experience and sincere desire to take care of people," he said.

As he looks back on his career, Olson encourages those just starting out to always be content and passionate about whatever job they have.

"I tell them the best job is always the one you're in," he said. "Have faith that the journey ahead is going to be a great one."

Keeping a balance between a very time-consuming AF career and other important things in life is also something he tries to motivate others to focus on because it has been an area where he has struggled.

"When you're on a demanding Air Force journey, something you're pouring your heart and soul into, you need to ensure there's time for the special people in your life, and other interests such as community or hobbies," Olson said. "Maintaining a reasonable balance has been the most difficult challenge I have faced, so I encourage others to never ignore this challenge and also to never give up trying to improve that balance on behalf of those you love."

Creating more time to be connected and tighten relationships with his wife, Dayna, and his four adult children, is part of what the general is looking forward to in the next phase of his life. He also said he and his wife are currently in the process of looking for ways to serve in the future. They are asking, "How do we transition and use our interests, gifts and talents in a benevolent way that will make a difference in people's lives?"

He added that, since the Air Force life hasn't always allowed them to be together, he and Dayna want the future to involve them serving together in the same capacity to the maximum extent possible.

Olson says he is finishing his Air Force journey by "counting up days," meaning he has been counting each new day as a special gift since his retirement was officially announced in January.

"Every day is one more day we are blessed with the privilege of serving this great nation in an Air Force filled with the most amazing people in the world," he said. "For Dayna and I, we cannot imagine a more meaningful or enjoyable career than the one we have had, and for that we will be forever thankful to God and the people we have served with."