Olmstead, the timing never really worked out and would be difficult to work out for most people who want to stay in the cockpit.
Olmsted is doable for a pilot/nfo who wants to keep flying, but really only during either the disassociated or post-DH tours. The jury is still out on the career impacts on the post-DH folks, as the first group is still in the program.
Anecdotally, the aviator Olmsted Scholars I know have remained on track, but they all had strong records coming into the program (sea/shore #1 or #2 EPs). Three were selected for operational command (one on his second look), and two others are in their DH tours. I’m about to roll into my DH tour, so we’ll see how my timing works out. The fact that I can defer both my O-5 and command looks by a year will certainly help.
From a hard data perspective, OPNAV surveyed 86 recent scholars this year (31 of whom were in aviation) to track career progression post-Olmsted. 11 of the aviators laterally transferred, while the rest are still on track. Overall, the selection/promotion rates of those still in the community were above average.
There are no guarantees with timing for Olmsted, especially because the degree programs vary so widely between countries. Also, your degree could be high quality or next to useless based on the quality of the university.
Regardless, you can’t beat the quality of life and the chance to get an experience that’s about as far from the military norm as possible.