Colonel william ostlund biography of williams

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The service, like Mike’s discoveries over six decades later, helped bring closure to the Ostlund family. In the morning, he received his commission as an Ensign. Bill likewise helped to raise his younger brothers, Robert and John, who developed a close camaraderie that “eventually won out over anything else.” As boys, their childhood was filled with “Boy Scouts, church events, family get-togethers, and sports.” There was perhaps no better example of their adventurous nature than in the “ingenious fort” they constructed by the creek near their home, which “had underground rooms and a tree house annex.”

Bill attended Webster City’s Lincoln High School, where he was, according to his nephew and biographer Mike Ostlund, “very well liked.” In his senior yearbook, Bill’s classmates described him by writing that “His excellent characteristics make him outstanding.” It was in high school that he first became a standout in academics and athletics, helping to cultivate the values of hard work and dedication that carried through to his military service.

He next served as the GSRS, Global Security Manager for YouTube and currently serves as the Global Security Manager for Security Operations Readiness.

Bill holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of Nebraska at Omaha and a Master of Arts in Law and Diplomacy (MALD) in International Relations from The Fletcher School.

He was, according to those who knew him at Butler, “an extremely bright, handsome young man” who had “unlimited potential for success.” His classmates twice voted him a “Big Man on Campus,” and, as a senior, bestowed upon Bill the honor of being one of the “ten most outstanding men on campus.” Perhaps most importantly, though, Bill met his future wife, Peggy Burnell, during his time at Butler.

He carried his membership in Phi Delta Theta to Butler, where he was initiated and ultimately served as president of the fraternity.

"People will opine about the small retention of West Pointers, only 35 or 40 percent of them stay," Ostlund said. It’s now beside memorials for Sky Soldiers who died on earlier tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

On Aug. 1, 1990, he arrived at his first post as a second lieutenant with the 101st Airborne Division, then the world changed.

Bill Ostlund is the greatest example of leadership I've ever had," Lt. Col. Mathew Myer, who earned a Silver Star as the commander of Chosen Company, said. January 5, 1943, proved to be a milestone in Bill’s life for two reasons. Unlike the early 1990s where combat was rare and units would go years without seeing it, now Soldiers must constantly be prepared.

Gudgeon commander Bill Post commended Bill for exceptional service after the first patrol, noting his “natural and excellent” training and his qualification for “top watches” shortly after embarking had made him a “real [asset] to the ship.” This dedication paid off as, in the midst of his second patrol, Bill received word that he had been promoted to Lieutenant Junior Grade.

Ostlund and his unit's focus on training was put to the test from the start of their 2007-08 deployment to the Kunar Province.

Bill was commissioned as a Distinguished Military Graduate in the Infantry and re-entered the active Army in 1990. "That is a legacy I am proud of.

He served for four years as an enlisted Soldier straight out of high school before switching to the Army National Guard, enrolling in ROTC and pursuing a college degree in order to become a commissioned officer at the advice of his mentors.

Additionally, he served as a Senior Service College Fellow at The Fletcher School and he recently completed the Kellogg School’s Understanding Security as a Business Asset Program.

Bill authored: “On Trust and Leadership,” published by the Modern War Institute (19 December 2018); “Conventional Force and Special Operation Forces: Interoperability and Interdependence,” published by the Institute of Land Warfare (October 2014); “Irregular Warfare: Counterterrorism Forces in Support of Counterinsurgency Operations,” published by the Institute of Land Warfare (September 2012); “Tactical Leader Lessons Learned in Afghanistan,” published in Military Review (July/August 2009); and “Rifle Platoon Leader (Air Assault): Training and Leading in the Gulf War,” published by the MCOE (1995).