SPC Brandon Olson Story

Olson goes from the bad road
to the high road

by Matt Johnson .

Brandon Olson sees the world for what it is to him today, not what it was for him just two years ago. As an infantryman in the United States Army, he's content with the fact that it's not a matter of if, but instead when he will be sent to Iraq. That could happen any time in the next year. But Iraq is just one stop in the future plans of young Pfc. Brandon Olson, 18. He hopes to go to college after returning. Then, after completing an ROTC program, he hopes to re-enlist in military as an officer. But first will come Iraq, and Brandon is trying not to let that bother him. "I'm not saying it isn't a scary place, but I don't worry about it," Brandon said. "That's what I signed up to do. It's my obligation." Following through with obligations is a fairly new concept for Brandon. The integrity he takes so seriously today is something that two years ago wouldn't have come to mind. Somewhere around his freshman year of high school, Brandon began to slip into a circle of bad behavior. It included drugs and alcohol and sometimes skipping school for up to three weeks at a stretch. "Toward the end it was getting pretty bad," Brandon said. "It was petty stuff — drugs, fighting and drinking. It was just stupid stuff, but if it would have kept on going, who knows where I would have ended up. In prison maybe." The turn around in Brandon's life came in late 2003 when he was given a choice — either transfer out of Viroqua High School to attend Better Futures High School or sign up for the Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy at Ft. McCoy. Brandon embraced the idea of going to the challenge academy. "He was willing to do anything he could to get into it," His mother, Laura, who lives in rural Viroqua with Brandon's father, Todd, said. "This was a kid who quit anger management classes because he got mad and walked out. We couldn't see him following through with going to the academy and having a drill sergeant scream in his face." Brandon worked for an uncle to earn money to pay off a fine to cross the final hurdle to enlist in the challenge academy. The challenge academy, which began in Wisconsin in 1998, is a residential program for at-risk teens ages 16-18. Students have to meet certain guidelines to be accepted for admission. One of the things the academy handles is students who were habitually truant. During the 22-week stay at Ft. McCoy, students obtain high school equivalency degrees, learn job skills and prepare to change their lives. The entire program, however, is 17 months in length, with follow-ups on the progress of cadets happening long after they have returned to the real world. Brandon had to choose a mentor to watch over his progress at the academy. He asked his former middle school science teacher, Wes Mack of Viroqua. "I was surprised when Brandon asked me to be his mentor," Mack said. "I knew him from eighth grade, from the weight room and other things at school. While there might have been some problems, I didn't really know the extent of the truancy problem that had developed. "In the end the academy had a miraculous affect on Brandon," Mack continued. "The kid that went into the academy wasn't the same one who came out." Brandon immediately thrived on the discipline of the academy, getting up early, following rules and working hard. "It happened really quick," Brandon said. "I got sober and I remember sitting there in the first few days and thinking about how I had been screwing up in my life. The challenge academy gave me a second chance and I ran with it." Brandon went on to be a platoon leader at the challenge academy and a member of the school's prestigious drill team. He was also a candidate for the top cadet in his class, although that honor eventually went to someone else. "The only time we could even sense that he was bothered by something at the challenge academy is when he wasn't named the top cadet," Laura said. "But that was like another test for him. The old Brandon might have gotten mad and just given up. Brandon got over it and went on to get his high school equivalency." Brandon completed the 22-week program in June of 2004. He was one of 76 graduates in the school's 12th graduating class. Following his graduation from the academy he enlisted in the Army. Mack wrote court officers to get Brandon a waiver so he was cleared to travel to Ft. Benning, Ga., for basic training. "After I visited him at the challenge academy and I listened to his plans about what he wanted to do I had no doubts about how it would work out," Mack said. "When we'd talk he would mention that some of his classmates had made mistakes. He would call it, ‘dumb kids making dumb decisions.' I said to him, ‘Brandon, that was you just last year.'" Compared to the expectations at the challenge academy, Brandon said that basic training was easier. "The whole boot camp scene that is portrayed in movies doesn't exist," Brandon said. "It's not like that. I thought it was more like a regular job. The challenge academy had prepared me pretty well." Directly following his graduation from boot camp in November of 2004, Brandon went to the army's Javelin Weapons Training Course, also at Ft. Benning. He received his qualification diploma for that fire-and-forget anti-tank weapons system on Nov. 19. After a brief visit back home in December, Brandon has been assigned to the Second Infantry Division and is stationed at Ft. Lewis, Wash. He is a SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) gunner in Third Brigade, 520 Infantry, Charley Company, First Platoon. Brandon is the second-youngest soldier in his company, but because he is a higher rank (E-3) than some of the others in his unit, "nobody gives me a hard time." "Things out here are going great," Brandon said in a telephone call from last week. "We're doing a lot of good training. We've been hitting the field hard and doing some live-fire training. "The other day we went on a 12-mile road march and as the SAW gunner I'd have to say it was pretty hard carrying that, by the end of it you nearly feel like you want to pass out," Brandon continued. "But I get a really satisfying feeling from that, too." His unit's departure status is to be upgraded in May. Brandon said that although the Second Infantry Division is not technically scheduled to return to Iraq until July 2006, that could be moved up — as has happened to many other units. Mack, who visited with Brandon after his graduation from basic training, and exchanges letters with him now, said the two have discussed Iraq. "He says, ‘Iraq doesn't bother me,'" Mack said. "He said that's his duty and said he's ready, "Sometimes it sounds like he has big plans to be an officer in the Army," Mack continued. "He's very happy being in the infantry. He surprised me by what he was able to do at the academy, but nothing he says about what he's going to do now surprises me." "Brandon's still the same Brandon in that he still has a huge heart and cares about people," Laura said. "But he's gained so much self-esteem through the challenge academy and the military. "So many parents out there have kids on the edge," Laura continued. "When it comes to the challenge academy, the kids have to have problems to get in. It turned out to be a great option for Brandon. It not only turned him around, but he earned his high school diploma and he's so proud of that." On Brandon's visit home in December he visited with some of his old friends, but didn't revert back to his old ways. He said he knows he'll have to keep focused to avoid falling down the slippery slope again. Still, he knows his old friends can't believe the change he's made. "I'm surprised, my friends are surprised," he said. "Nobody could have guessed what I've done. I was on a bad road there for a while. The challenge academy helped me change all that and after that I needed to do something and the Army's a good place to go." Brandon has two years left on his three-year enlistment and is supposed to be discharged in 2007. He said the GI Bill will provide $56,000 toward his college education upon graduation.
















Putting a name and face to the ‘anonymous soldier’
serving the U.S. in Iraq

by Matt Johnson .

You might not think that you know Viroqua’s Brandon Olson, but you do. Brandon, the son of Todd and Laura Olson, left Viroqua in 2003 looking to find a life with more direction. He did that by enrolling in the Wisconsin National Guard Challenge Academy. After graduating from that program, he enlisted in the U.S. Army in 2004. Brandon completed basic training, went to a couple specialized schools and went through more advanced training. Brandon is now on the front lines in the “War on Terror” patrolling the streets of Baghdad, Iraq. He is all of 19 years old. When we watch the news at night or read it in the morning newspaper, the statistics reporting troop casualties, insurgent attacks, IED explosions, etc., seem foreign and removed. It, however, is the responsibility of soldiers such as Brandon to protect themselves, their comrades and Iraqi civilians from attack. No matter where you fall when considering if the war in Iraq is “right,” it’s clear that the vast majority of our soldiers serving are doing right as directed by the Commander In Chief. They perform heroic duties everyday. The security they provide to civilians is underreported. The news media prefers juicy stories about soldiers doing wrong as opposed to the countless stories where soldiers are making a difference. Who are these soldiers in Iraq? Well, unless one is a relative or a friend of the family, the vast majority of people don’t know or don’t care. They are the nameless, faceless protectors of our freedom. They are young. They are unheralded. They are quite often forgotten. According to the Iraq Coalition Casualty database, as of Monday, 2,720 nameless, faceless “anonymous” United States soldiers had lost their lives in Iraq since March of 2003. In the same time period, according to Department of Defense statistics, 19,910 U.S. soldiers have been wounded in action. These casualties run the gamut of a soldier returning to their unit after a minor injury to a soldier who suffered massive injuries and will be scared for life. Of the nearly 60 soldiers from Wisconsin who have died in Iraq, more than 40 of them died as the result of wounds suffered from IEDs (Improvised Explosive Devices). These bombs are hidden along roadsides and remotely detonated by insurgents as vehicles carrying U.S. soldiers or Iraqi security forces pass by. The explosive charges in these bombs are lethal beyond description. The soldiers who are at the greatest risk of facing IED wounds are those who regularly patrol roads or accompany convoys keeping areas secure. That’s exactly what Brandon’s unit does in Iraq. He is trained as a SAW (Squad Automatic Weapon) gunner. It’s his job to provide fire support to his unit should they come under enemy attack. There is no red, white or blue “silver lining” about what’s going on in Iraq. Are our soldiers doing good — yes. Are they performing in a manner that reflects well on them and their commitments — yes. The truth of that is muddled because our nation is completely divided about whether or not they should be in Iraq in the first place. It’s not their fault, but it is our fault for looking the other way and trying to forget. To those who don’t know, don’t care to know, or who don’t think they know anybody serving our country in Iraq, you’re wrong. They’re the kids who grew up next door, around the corner, who played flag football, who held the door open for you that time at the grocery store... You know them. Brandon Olson is one of them. Brandon? Yeah, you know him. —Matt Johnson