Capt. Stephanie Helm of the Naval War College sent us this news item:

Navy Vice Adm. Eric T. Olson has been nominated for appointment to the grade of admiral and assignment as commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Olson is currently serving as deputy commander, U.S. Special Operations Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Olson is the first 4-star the SEALs have ever had.

Tom says:

I met and spent some time with--both working and socially--Adm. Olson down in SOCOM that week I spent down there and described in BFA. Great guy, and the quintessential trigger-pulling SEAL. When I described that model in BFA, I was using him as my model.

Olson is different from Brown. Brown's philosophy was grow both trigger-pullers and civil affairs at same rate--sort of the "big tent" view of SOF.

Olson struck me as far more the purist.

I think this is a great shift, not that I disliked Brown--far from it. I just think he was more given to the Kaplanesque view of SOF as full-service, while I think Olson's more the old-school type who'll keep the trigger-pullers . . . happy being who they are as opposed to pursuing the big tent approach.

I approve of that, because I don't see SOF being all things to all Gap regions, something I had deeply reinforced in Africa.