Lt. Col. Carl Ohlson

Lt. Col. Carl Ohlson, PhD, is an associate professor and the director of the Center for Enhanced Performance (CEP) at the United States Military Academy at West Point. A frequent guest speaker on applying sport psychology and student development strategies to a variety of contexts, he serves as an advisor to several think tanks and committees pursuing strategies for leveraging mental strength to enhance performance. His research interests include psychological hardiness and self-regulated learning, and he incorporates this research as he educates cadets and soldiers.

An enlisted soldier, Lt. Col. Carl Ohlson began his officer career as a platoon leader and then long-range surveillance detachment executive officer at Fort Drum, New York. Subsequent assignments include battalion assistant operations officer and company commander at Fort Benning; executive officer and deputy director for the CEP at West Point Military Academy; and chief of community affairs for Allied Forces Northern Europe (AFNORTH). While at AFNORTH, he led logistics operations in Poland, Turkey, Kosovo, and Macedonia, and coordinated logistical support in Afghanistan. He returned to Afghanistan in the fall of 2009 to assist the National Military Academy of Afghanistan in developing their strategic plan.

A past member of the American Educational Research Association (AERA), holds a membership in the Association for Applied Sport Psychology (AASP), and is an AASP-certified Sport Psychology Consultant. He also serves as a member of the AASP Certification Committee. His scholarly work has been published in the Journal of Sport Behavior, Journal of Instructional Psychology, Military Medicine, and Military Psychology.

Lt. Col. Carl Ohlson holds a bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy, a master’s degree in sport psychology from the University of Virginia, a master’s degree in military operational art and science from Air University, and a doctorate in higher education with a minor in educational psychology from Pennsylvania State University.