Naval Submarine Medical Research Laboratory (NSMRL)’s Sailors and staff come from a wide array backgrounds. For Asian American, Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander (AANHPI) Heritage Month, Capt. Tatana Olson, the command’s executive officer, reflects on her own background, and her Navy career.

Olson’s Navy story started during her final year of graduate school at Purdue University, where she obtained a masters and PhD in Industrial and Organizational psychology. She was commissioned as a Naval aerospace experimental psychologist (AEP) in 2004 upon completion of her PhD.

“Given how much of their lives people spend in the workplace, I wanted to help make work and the workplace mutually beneficial for organizations and the people who work in them,” Olson recalled. “I’d always had a desire to serve, but didn’t know there was a place for my specific education and skills in the Navy, which is why I was so excited when I saw a job listing for the Naval AEP program. The position description—applying psychological principals to solving real word problems in Naval aviation—really appealed to me.”

Olson’s first tour was at the Naval Aerospace Medical Institute (NAMI) in Pensacola, Fl as the Biostatistics Division Officer in the Operational Psychology Department from 2005 to 2008. Olson would return to NAMI as the Operational Psychology Department Head in 2014 after completing a post-doctoral program in cognitive neuroscience at George Mason University in 2011, and working as a scientific advisor and Navy and Marine Corps liaison at the Defense Forensics and Biometrics Agency in Arlington, Virginia.

While at NAMI, Olson was responsible for managing the Aviation Selection Test Battery (ASTB), the primary tool used to assess aviation candidates for the Navy, Marine Corps, and Coast Guard. The ASTB had historically been a test of cognitive abilities, though research indicated that the use of cognitive ability tests could disadvantage candidates from some minority groups who would otherwise successfully complete flight training.

“Given the Navy’s commitment to diversity, an important part of my job was to expand our assessment battery to include non-cognitive measures, such as personality and job motivation,” Olson explained, “to provide a more holistic evaluation of each candidate, because we know success in aviation is about more than technical knowledge and skills.”

Olson reported to Naval Medical Research Unit Dayton in July 2017 as deputy director for the Naval Aerospace Medical Research Laboratory. In 2020, prior to her current assignment, Olson joined the Defense Health Agency’s Research and Engineering directorate first as the acting chief of staff, then as acting deputy director and branch chief for Science & Technology Portfolio Management.

In June of 2023 Olson reported to NSMRL as the Executive Officer, making history as the first woman of Asian American heritage to serve in that role. Only a short month later, she made history again as the first woman in the AEP community to attain the rank of captain.

“I’m very proud to come from a group that is typically underrepresented not only in the military, but in leadership positions, and even more so as a female,” Olson said. “There is immense pride, but definitely also pressure. When you’re from a minority group, your successes and failures are more heavily scrutinized, and you want to make sure you’re serving as a role model to others who might be searching for someone in leadership positions who ‘look like them.’”

Olson expressed an admiration for AAPI service members who have come before her, including Daniel Inouye, a long-serving American senator from Hawaii of Japanese heritage. Inouye served in WWII as part of a Japanese-American regiment, losing an arm in combat, and went on to serve as a senator of Hawaii for 49 years.

“He was a strong advocate for the rights of Native Americans, Native Hawaiians, and Alaskan Natives, and I appreciate that he didn’t advocate for them from the perspective that they inherently deserved special treatment, but because he felt very strongly that they had been disadvantaged, and that fundamentally all people deserve the same rights.”

“He was also a strong friend of psychology,” Olson added, “and he understood that addressing the plights of marginalized groups was necessary for their overall health and well-being.”

Equal access to basic rights is a fundamental belief for Olson. She was part of Secretary Robert Gates’ Comprehensive Review Working Group tasked with assessing the potential impacts of repealing the law known as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Ultimately, their recommendations resulted in repeal of the law, enabling gay and lesbian service members to openly serve with the same rights and privileges as their heterosexual colleagues.

“I truly believe that diversity is a strength,” Olson said, “particularly in our business of research and innovation. I don’t believe that we can push the boundaries of what we know without having diverse perspectives. I believe the diversity of our country is a big reason why we continue to be so technically innovative.”

Olson’s mother comes from Thailand, a nation on the Indochinese Peninsula with a population of 66 million. She met Olson’s father while he was working in Thailand with the Peace Corps. Thailand is the U.S.’s only treaty partner in mainland southeast Asia and one of the U.S.’s non-NATO allies. Cobra Gold, a multi-national Indo-Pacific military exercise held in Thailand, is one of the largest annual exercises of its kind.

“Given the historical relationship between Thailand and the U.S., joining the Navy seemed like a small way for me to continue to support that spirit of collaboration and cooperation,” Olson said.

Olson also remarked on progress that the Navy has made to move beyond representation and towards inclusion, such as ensuring minority groups are integrated into discussions and decision-making, and investing in STEM and other outreach activities in underrepresented populations.

“I think continuing to target areas of the country where we don’t traditionally recruit, such as more urban areas, expanding awareness about opportunities within the Navy, and sharing individual experiences to create that personal connection and relatability, is so important,” Olson remarked. “As the Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, recently stated, ‘every Sailor is a recruiter.’”

“AANHPI Heritage month provides us with the opportunity to recognize and celebrate the contributions Asian Americans have made to our country” Olson added.” Like other immigrants who have helped shape America, they are integral to the fabric of our society. Oftentimes, Asian Americans come from challenging circumstances or war-torn countries, where there isn’t freedom of expression or religion, and that makes them particularly motivated to be part of a democratic society that respects those freedoms. It is important to acknowledge the challenges the AANHPI community has faced, and continues to face, and pay tribute to generations of AANHPIs who have enriched America’s society and culture.”

NSMRL, part of Navy Medicine’s Research & Development enterprise, and based out of Groton, Connecticut, sustains the readiness and superiority of undersea warfighters through innovative health and performance research. Throughout Asian American, Native Hawaiian, and Pacific Islander Heritage month, NSMRL aims to recognize the contributions of our sailors, scientists, and civilian personnel with roots in countries and cultures with diverse heritage.

Story originally posted on DVIDS: AANHPI Heritage Month Spotlight: Capt. Tatana Olson