CSF 2024 | Keynote Address - Lt. Gen. Gregg P. Olson, USMC, Director, Marine Corps Staff, HQ

Keynote Address – Lt. Gen. Gregg P. Olson,
U.S. Marine Corps, Director, Marine Corps Staff, Headquarters

LtGen Gregg P. Olson is the Director, Marine Corps Staff, Headquarters, United States Marine Corps. He grew up in Cumberland, RI, Montreal, Quebec, and Westlake Village, CA, and graduated from the United States Naval Academy in 1985. An infantry officer, LtGen Gregg Olson has an additional Military Occupational Specialty as an embarkation officer.

LtGen Olson commanded a rifle company in 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines, and both Headquarters & Service and Weapons Companies in 3d Battalion, 2nd Marines. He commanded 2nd Battalion, 1st Marines during combat in Fallujah in 2004, and the 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit during its 2010 deployment.

His staff assignments include S-3 Operations Officer for 3d Battalion, 2nd Marines during Operation SEA SIGNAL (1995), S-3 Operations Officer for 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) during combat operations in Afghanistan (2001) and Iraq (2003), and service as G-3 Operations Officer for 1st Marine Division.

LtGen Olson’s supporting establishment assignments include staff and ceremonial duties at Marine Barracks, Washington, D.C., Faculty Advisor at Amphibious Warfare School, and Director for Senate Liaison, Office of Legislative Affairs, Headquarters, Marine Corps.

His field grade Joint assignment was as the Assistant Deputy Director for Regional Operations (J-33), J-3, Joint Staff. During that tour, he qualified as a Deputy Director for Operations (DDO) in the National Military Command Center.

As a general officer, LtGen Olson was assigned as Deputy Commander, U.S. Marine Corps Forces, Central Command/Commanding General, Marine Corps Forces, Central Command (Forward), Manama, Bahrain. During that tour, he was additionally designated as Commander, Task Force 51/59, Fifth Fleet, U.S Naval Forces, Central Command.

His Headquarters, Marine Corps service as a general officer includes duties as Director of the Marine Corps’ 2016 Quadrennial Defense Review Office and a 2019-2020 assignment as Assistant Deputy Commandant for Plans, Policies, and Operations.

His Joint service as a general officer includes assignment as the Joint Staff’s J-5 Deputy Director for Political-Military Affairs, Middle East (DDME), and a tour as the Director of Operations and Cyber, United States Africa Command, Stuttgart, Germany.

LtGen Olson is a graduate of the Amphibious Warfare School, Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Lieutenant General Gregg P. Olson Director, Marine Corps Staff, Headquarters, United States Marine Corps Squadron One Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course, the College of Naval Command and Staff, and the National War College.

He is married to a former Navy Nurse Corps officer.

About the Current Strategy Forum:

This year marks the 73rd annual Current Strategy Forum (CSF) at the Naval War College in Newport, hosted by the Secretary of the Navy. The first CSF was held on 9 May 1949 under the title “Round Table Talks.” This event offers an opportunity for the Nation’s public servants, scholars, and senior military officers to join the College faculty and students to discuss the future strategy of the United States. Over the years, the CSF has expanded to include a cross section of America’s civilian and military leadership to encourage a wide-ranging debate on national and international security. This year’s theme: "America’s Seapower and Maritime Statecraft."

The wars in Europe and the Middle East, and the danger of conflict in Asia and the Pacific, underscore the need for clear strategic guidance to provide for the security and wellbeing of the American people and the partners of the United States around the globe. In a speech at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, Secretary of the Navy Carlos Del Toro introduced the theme of Maritime Statecraft as a guiding principle for understanding the importance of seapower and maritime strategy in upholding an American-led, rules-based international order. The Secretary underscored the importance of strategy in meeting the challenges ahead for the United States. “I always say that I expect my Admirals and Generals to be skilled warfighters. But more so, I demand that they be strategic thinkers — that they strive first to deter our adversaries and, if called upon, be victorious during times of conflict.” The Naval War College, since its founding by Stephen B. Luce and the teachings of Alfred Thayer Mahan, has led professional military education in developing future leaders to be strategic thinkers.

This year’s forum will seek to understand the role of the United States naval forces and maritime statecraft as part of an overall national strategy to meet the strategic challenges before us.