Marksman sergeant earns spot on Paralympic team

This week OFFduty staff writer Jon Anderson wrote about the first active-duty service member nominated to the U.S. Paralympic Team:

Army Sgt. 1st Class Josh Olson has his sights set on gold. And despite losing his right leg to an enemy rocket-propelled grenade, Olson usually hits what he aims for.

He’ll be the first active-duty service member nominated to the U.S. Paralympic Team for shooting sports, military officials said, after the U.S. team recently earned a second slot at the London games.

Olson is expected to join former Army Ranger and Special Forces veteran Eric Hollen to round out the shooting team, which will be formally announced by the U.S. Olympic Committee later this year.

Olson was wounded in an insurgent ambush in Iraq during the early days of the war in 2003. After 18 months of grueling rehab, he was allowed to stay on active duty as a member of the Army’s Marksmanship Unit at Fort Benning, Ga., where leaders said he has led efforts to build a Paralympic contingent there.

“Sgt. 1st Class Olson is a trailblazer for our Army,” said the shooter’s commander, Lt. Col. Dan Hodne. “His unique Army story speaks volumes of the notion of ‘ability’ rather than ‘disability.’”

Although Olson narrowly missed qualifying for the 2008 U.S. team, his performance at the 2011 Paralympic World Cup in Australia opened up a clear shot at the podium at this year’s games in London.