Jon Olson is a retired US Navy commander. He served 21 years as a naval intelligence officer with a specialization in strategic-level clandestine human intelligence operations. His final assignment was as US Naval Attache at the US Embassy in Helsinki, Finland. He earned an MA in National Security and Strategic Studies from the US Naval War College and after retirement earned a Master of Public Affairs at the Humphrey School. He has been an adjunct faculty member at Carleton College since 2013 and has taught at Humphrey since 2023. He teaches courses on national security topics, to include intelligence, terrorism/counterterrorism, statecraft and the tools of national power, and weapons of mass destruction. He also leads the annual International Strategic Crisis Negotiation Exercise. In his spare time, he co-authors national security thrillers with his fellow Annapolis graduate David Bruns under the pen name J. R. Olson.