Scouting Skills Serve Olson Well in Persian Gulf Post

By Barbara Lyon, News Editor

The Olson family, from left to right, Ken, Nancy, Tyler, and Clint, reminisce about son (and brother) Spencer's Eagle Scout court of honor. Photo by Barbara Lyon/Dunn County News

There was never a time in Spencer Olson's life when he didn't dream of joining the Navy.

"I was an Army brat," explains his mother, Nancy. "My dad, my grandpa, and three of his uncles were in the service and I also have a nephew in the Air Force. We talked military all the time while Spencer was growing up."

An Eagle Scout, Olson spent his childhood and adolescence preparing for the day he could enlist. As his father Ken, an engineering technician for Xcel Energy, points out, Scouting is one of the best forms of preparation for military life.

"It teaches boys value and ethics and leadership skills," he declares. "Spencer went through junior leader training, a program that allows boys 13 years and older to practice these skills. It's a valuable instrument in their development."

On Aug. 31, 1999, just months after he graduated from Boyceville High School, the eager young recruit headed off to fulfill his dream of becoming a Seal, one of the Navy's most elite fighting forces.

Those plans changed, though, when a Seal, referring to another recruit who died during a training accident, asked him point-blank, "Are you prepared to say good-bye to your family?"

Olson chose, instead, to train as an electrician's mate, a job he learned as his father Ken's right-hand man when the family owned Olson Electric in the early '90s.

During boot camp, the master chief asked the recruits who was a Boy Scout. Turns out Spencer was one of only two out of a division of over 700 who was an Eagle Scout, Ken proudly reports.

"He was assigned to teach knots because of his Boy Scout background and was asked to work with the platoon leader with leadership skills," Nancy said. The couple speculate that it was probably a factor in their son's accelerated rise through the ranks to petty officer second class.

Currently stationed in the Persian Gulf, Olson calls the USS Duluth home.

It's the second time he's been to the region. During his first deployment, suicide bombers blew a hole in the USS Cole while it was docked in Yemen.

The USS Duluth was called upon to escort the disabled vessel home. Olson described to his family the stirring sight, as American flags flapped in the breeze and "God Bless America" played over loudspeakers.

Driving home to Wisconsin after the ship docked in San Diego, Olson stopped en route in St. Louis to visit his shipmate and best friend, Josh Knichel.

During his stay, he also got to know Josh's sister, Kristin. Love was literally "in the air" as the pair discovered they have a lot in common, including a passion for rock climbing.

At Phillips Scout Reservation in Haugen, Olson spent his summers as a high-adventure instructor during his teen years. Just a couple of weeks ago, Ken reports, he put his climbing skills to good use by scaling the mainmast on the ship to change a lightbulb.

The family's reaction to President Bush's declaration of war Wednesday was exultant.

"It's about time," said Olson's brother, Tyler, a BHS senior and fellow Eagle Scout who aspires to the Navy's Master at Arms program.

"We're proud of our president and our troops," says Ken. "Spencer said that attitude of the military is 100 percent behind the president. We love what our son's doing for America."

"They're there to support our country, to die for our freedoms," Nancy adds.

Clint, a BHS freshman and the youngest of the Olson boys, is upset at the reaction his family's support of the war with Iraq has received.

"We're being disrespected for having patriotism," he observes.

Despite their pride, the Olsons miss Spencer. Phone calls are rare and likely to be even more so now that the conflict has begun. Regular e-mails help ease their anxiety.

"I can't imagine what it was like before, waiting for weeks for letters to come," Nancy muses.