News stories tagged with "eric-olsen"

(12/30/05) On January 2nd, 2005, six hundred and seventy soldiers with the 2nd of the 108th National Guard battalion celebrated their return from the war in Iraq with a ceremony at Fort Drum. They also remembered three of the unit's reservists who didn't make it home. Lt. Colonel Eric Olsen served as a chaplain at a base north of Bagdad and also volunteered for North Country Public Radio, keeping a series of audio diaries. Olsen has been home in Saranac Lake for a full year now, with his wife Susan and his sons Garth and Evan. Olsen sat down this week with Brian Mann to talk about returning to civilian life, a hard transition for many reservists.

(06/06/05) The 2-108th Infantry Battalion of the New York National Guard observed a change in leadership over the weekend. Martha Foley reports.

(01/17/05) Over the last year, Major Eric Olsen, a National Guard chaplain with the 2nd of the 108th infantry battalion, has sent weekly audio diaries from Iraq. His thoughts, and the experiences of his wife Susan in Saranac Lake, have offered some insight into the lives of families separated by war. This week, as we wrap up our regular series, Brian Mann sat down with Eric Olsen. Olsen is now one of dozens of north country soldiers back home safe, settling back into the rhythms of normal life.

(12/31/04) Over the last ten months, Major Eric Olsen has been sending regular audio diary entries from Camp Orion north of Bagdad. In his latest entry, Olsen takes stock of a year spent on the front lines and looks forward to the challenges of returning home. Major Olsen is chaplain for the 2nd of the 108th National Guard infantry battalion. He lives in Saranac Lake with his wife Susan and sons, Garth and Evan.

(12/27/04) For dozens of military families in the north country, this Christmas season has been tough. A contingent of reservists from Vermont is now on its way to Iraq. Meanwhile, seven hundred National Guard soldiers from around New York state are scheduled to return next week from Iraq. A demobilization ceremony for the 2nd of the 108th battalion has been tentatively scheduled for next Monday at Fort Drum. The homecoming will be a joyous time, but it will also be a time for complicated adjustments. This week, as part of our Iraq audio diary series, we'll hear from Susan Olsen. Susan is an artist, a teacher, and a homemaker. She's also the wife of Major Eric Olsen, an army chaplain from Saranac Lake who's been serving at Camp Orion north of Bagdad. Their sons are Garth and Evan.

(12/13/04) Hundreds of soldiers from the north country are serving on the front lines in Iraq. Those units deal with local civilians every day. Often the encounters are tense, complicated by barriers of language and culture and fear. This week, in his latest Iraq Audio Diary, Major Eric Olsen talks with one of the local interpreters who serve as middle men between American soldiers and the people they're trying to protect. Major Eric Olsen is an Army chaplain from Saranac Lake. He's serving with the 2nd of the 108th, a New York National Guard unit.

(12/06/04) Hundreds of National Guard and Reserve soldiers from New York are nearing the end of their year-long deployment to Iraq. The 2nd of the 108th won't release the exact travel dates, because of security concerns, but north country soldiers could be home as early as January. In his latest audio diary from Iraq, Major Eric Olsen gathers thoughts from reservists about their home-coming. Olsen -- a chaplain from Saranac Lake -- found men who were hopeful, anxious, and eager.

(11/29/04) During the recent fighting in Falloujah, insurgent attacks escalated in other parts of Iraq. North Country National Guard soldiers based at Camp Orion, north of Baghdad, faced a wave of massive car bombings. In his latest Iraq audio diary, recorded in mid-November, Major Eric Olsen, a National Guard Chaplain from Saranac Lake, describes the fighting over a period of 48 hours, as soldiers struggled to maintain order on the front line.

(11/15/04) Hundreds of New York National Guard soldiers serving with the 2nd of the 108th in Iraq have passed their one-year mark. The reservists will be returning home to the U.S. in January or February. But they'll be replaced by other reserve units from New York and Vermont that are now shipping overseas. This week as part his audio diary, Major Eric Olsen -- a chaplain from Saranac Lake -- headed to Camp Orion's internet café to talk with Zachary Estergard, a young soldier from Syracuse who's just begun a tour of duty.

(11/08/04) As fighting intensifies in Iraq, the Bush administration has called up thousands of additional reservists. Roughly 180,000 part-time soldiers are now on active duty. That's an increase of 25,000 since June. National Guard and Reserve soldiers now make up roughly half of the American forces serving in Iraq. According to the Pentagon, they're also suffering half of the casualties. Last month, 15 reservists were killed in action. Two of them were members of New York's 2nd battlion, 108th infantry regiment. In his latest audio diary, Major Eric Olsen, a chaplain from Saranac Lake, has this remembrance of Sgt. Michael Uvanni, a New York National Guardsman who was killed by a sniper October 1st in the town of Samarra.

The Iraq Diary series is produced by Brian Mann with web support from Dale Hobson.