Millennium Magazine_8th Ed

157 Millennium - A Marquis Who’s Who Magazine GOVERNMENT AND MILITARY Heeding his advice, Mr. Olson was admitted to the Naval Academy, later receiving a bachelor’s degree in naval science. Commissioned as an en- sign in the United States Navy in 1962, Mr. Olson earned a master’s degree in physics from the Na- val Postgraduate School in 1968. Mr. Olson advanced through the grades to rear admiral until 1987. During his naval tenure, he had a supervising role in the first two nuclear refuelings of the USS Enterprise and was the executive officer of the USS Sampson, where he was homeported in Eleusis, Greece, in the mid-1970s. Serving with the Navy until 1996, he excelled as an instructor, commanding officer of the USS Pharris and USS Mississippi, and deputy director of the Strategy and Policy Joint Staff. He officially retired from the military as president of the Board of Inspection and Survey. Throughout his illustrious career, Mr. Olson was a consultant on Navy logistics and operational engineering. He also served in curriculum development and as an instructor for the Navy Maintenance University between 1997 and 2011. Post-military, he has been the executive director and partner of the Phoenix Group of Virginia, a veteran-owned small business that provides services and products to the United States government, NATO and commercial industries. Established in 2008, the Phoenix Group seeks to implement an integration of innovative thinking and program realism to overcome each customer’s obstacles. Civically, Mr. Olson has been chairman of the Credit Union Support Organization (CUSO) for Chartway Federal Credit Union since 2013 and of the Military Economic Development Advisory Commission since 2018. Maintaining membership with the Navy League, he has been honored for his military service with a Decorated Distinguished Service Medal. Likewise, he is certified in Navy surface nuclear operations. U pon graduating high school, Phil- lip Roger Olson obtained an NROTC scholarship, which allowed him to ma- triculate at the University of California Los Angeles (UC Los Angeles) in 1957. While at UC Los Angeles, the senior instructor of the NROTC Unit suggested that he apply for entrance into the United States Naval Academy. PHILLIP ROGER OLSON EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, PARTNER Phoenix Group of Virginia Virginia Beach, VA