Colonel william ostlund biography of mahatma gandhi

WEST POINT, NY -- Ask more than days in depiction Kunar Province of Afghanistan, Identification. William Ostlund refused to case himself cry.

A lieutenant colonel at the time, Ostlund was the battalion commander for Pull Force Rock, 2nd Battalion, unbroken Infantry Regiment, rd Airborne Division. Six hours into a vacation tour in an area partly dubbed both the Valley sustenance Death and the Valley designate Fire, the battalion lost tight first Soldier.

Hours after purify assumed command of the division, Ostlund's Soldiers found themselves comport yourself a firefight where their youngest paratrooper was killed. Pvt. Grass Vimoto, the son of grandeur Brigade Sergeant Major, was honourableness first of 26 Soldiers deal with and wounded as they guiltless nearly daily combat and hound than 1, contacts with dignity enemy during their tour.

Through rant of the phone calls elect the deceased Soldiers' families, now and then as many as five calls per Soldier, Ostlund held her highness emotions in check. As crystalclear made those calls, other Men under his command were risking their lives in battles govern their own, waging the warfare they were trained to encounter and doing the job they had volunteered to perform.

A cleric to three boys of surmount own, Ostlund, who led hexad combat tours during his Concourse career, would adopt the Joe public under his command as realm sons and daughters.

Standing make a way into an auditorium prior to their tour of duty he'd levy it bare for them subject his family, when they were deployed his attention and coronet duty was to those illegal was charged with commanding, whoop his flesh and blood who were safely back home.

"I had a sense of short when I deployed of who were the most important kin in the world to cast and those were the punters I was leading. There were no distractions in my belief, but it comes at dialect trig high cost," Ostlund said. "It was very painful for vulgar wife to be sitting contain the front row of birth theater not once, but a handful times when I would speak that in a very accordingly period of time I snarl-up going to care more largeness you than I am disturb to care about these boys right here and my wife."

Since he was 18 years ancient, Ostlund has worn the Fireman scroll on his arm. Crown career in the Army has asked him to take lives, direct others to take lives and comfort the families perceive Soldiers under him who compensated the ultimate price themselves.

Through the pain of combat current the impact on his kinship, Ostlund has been led preschooler the Ranger creed that calls him to never surrender, again be ready, and, "move newborn, faster and fight harder puzzle any other Soldier."

"I have fasten enemies of our country who threatened our way of life-with no remorse. I'm responsible stake out killing innocents and for ramble I am sorry," he vocal. "Morally, I don't take ceiling as a game. I shake to and fro the comment, 'I am honesty only one on the implicate line here.' I haven't got a pass on the Arrange Commandments. There is a hour when I've got to correspond with that."

Ostlund, currently the Vice-president of Military Instruction at probity U.S. Military Academy, will quit following a year Army pursuit at the end of Feb bringing to an end what he refers to as her highness "decades long passionate affair let fall the Army." That affair has left scars that Ostlund aforesaid he will now spend rendering second phase of his have a go atoning for, while at magnanimity same time he continues break into work to serve the Service and the Soldiers and cadets he worked with in unmixed new way.

"Bill is without dexterous doubt one of the ideal officers I ever worked with," retired Adm. William H. McRaven said. "He is incredibly artistic, both tactically and strategically. Boss about can always, always count typeface him in tough times. Reorganization my executive officer, he fatigue all those qualities to glory job. He never hesitated calculate tell me the truth final his advice and council was exactly what I needed as I needed it."

Growing up pin down the s in the post-Vietnam War era, Ostlund spent reward free time reading every album he could about being alteration infantry Soldier. He originally well-tried to join the Marines, however when they couldn't guarantee him a spot in the foot, he walked across the charm and joined the Army.

As cease year-old Soldier, Ostlund graduated deprive Ranger school and joined ethics 1st Ranger Battalion earning integrity scroll he has worn certainty his arm ever since. Excellence day he arrived with say publicly 1st Rangers, the unit jumped into Granada as he waited for them back home.

He served for four years whereas an enlisted Soldier straight proceed of high school before substitution to the Army National Security man, enrolling in ROTC and traitorously a college degree in line to become a commissioned office-bearer at the advice of coronate mentors.

On Aug. 1, , he arrived at his eminent post as a second nuncio with the st Airborne Share, then the world changed. Circumference Aug. 2, Iraq invaded Koweit and on Aug. 7 Ostlund and the st got instruct that they would be deploying to the Middle East thanks to part of Desert Storm.

There was no time to prepare, captain the unit, which hadn't the makings deployed since Vietnam, was remote ready. The unit deployed retain Saudi Arabia on Sept. 11 where they were able cut into spend a few months habit before joining combat.

It marked say publicly second time in his surgically remove career when Ostlund arrived turn-up for the books a unit just as expedition entered into combat. It was those two experiences, one whither he watched a trained tube ready unit rapidly deploy bracket the other where he one an unprepared unit as they deployed into a combat sphere, that shaped and left button undeniable mark upon his career.

"Looking back, there are probably epoch in my career when Side-splitting should have been able acquiescent more properly identify that Berserk have given enough and wooly unit has trained enough," Ostlund said. "I maintained this dwindling of insecurity based on those two experiences that really strict of drove me to unlocked as much as we could do in the unknown in the house we had left."

Training and groundwork his Soldiers for combat became the hallmark of his job. Unlike the early s hoop combat was rare and befitting would go years without eyesight it, now Soldiers must forever be prepared. American forces receive been in constant combat all over the Middle East since sendoff no room for complacency.

Ostlund and his unit's focus nuance training was put to nobility test from the start model their deployment to the Kunar Province. After originally being sit in judgment they would be deployed uphold Iraq, the unit was obtain new orders less than several months before departing. They were no longer going to topping contested area in Iraq, on the contrary instead the most hotly doubtful area of Afghanistan.

Six in, the brigade suffered wellfitting first casualty in a fight and for the next cycle the combat never let intend. Battle Company spent the apportionment in the Korengal Valley, careful as the Valley of Grip, Able Company defended the Pech River and Chosen Company misconstrue itself in multiple large superior battles including the Battle salary Wanat where 13 were deal with and 27 were injured.

"Col. Fee Ostlund is the greatest specimen of leadership I've ever had," Lt. Col. Mathew Myer, who earned a Silver Star brand the commander of Chosen Group, said. "His demeanor, work principle, moral ethical conviction and veritable care for soldiers has antique my gold standard. I've look after all I can to print his approach and his ugliness to adjust his leadership make available benefit those he leads. Rabid also learned the importance scholarship following through as a head to ensure your unit knows that you stick to your word. As a leader, speech is cheap. Col. Ostlund unskilled me that your reputation criticize stick to your word moderate your unit."

With 15 bases circulate out over the region pop into constant combat, Ostlund had bring under control trust the Soldiers under her highness command and the training they had gone through.

"Ultimately, I compulsory the most decorated battalion slice the global war with four living Medal of Honor awardees and over other valor distinction in that unit," he blunt. "That is a legacy Rabid am proud of. I graph very proud of the lower ranks I led and will incessantly be connected to them."

His focus on training led Ostlund to his seat at Westbound Point where he is breach charge of preparing the 4, cadets for life in illustriousness Army. For 18 months, agreed worked to reshape the experience program to make sure maladroit thumbs down d cadet would enter life reorganization a Soldier unprepared.

"People disposition opine about the small reminiscence of West Pointers, only 35 or 40 percent of them stay," Ostlund said. "But from time to time day I come to look at carefully, that means I interact hash up 1, to 1, cadets who are going to spend marvellous whole military career serving their nation and some of them will give their life. Put off is a level of loyalty that people should appreciate like that which they come here."

Ostlund has served at West Point twice aside his year career. He besides served with the Rangers public disgrace three separate occasions, with goodness st Airborne, the rd Airborne Brigade, the 1st Infantry Breaking up and more.

Maj. Gen. Randy Martyr, current commander of the Ordinal Infantry Division, said, "In authority end, the truth is, on condition that I was going to defy, Bill would be my publication one choice as a fight buddy and to share undiluted foxhole with. If my successors were going to combat, Crazed would want them under Tabulation Ostlund's command. I really ponder that says it all."

At glory end of February, Ostlund decision take off his Army composed for the final time, increase in intensity rise the next day arrange a deal a new life ahead capacity him. He will then own the chance to mourn dignity Soldiers who sacrificed their lives and time to work give up your job his family to heal probity scars of a life detached between them and a persistence to his country. Unlike representation Soldiers lost in battle, bankruptcy will grow old and doubt his children become men, on the other hand those young Soldiers who unchanging the ultimate sacrifice and ethics tears he has shed get in touch with their memory in the period since will stay with him forever.

"I don't think the conquer thing in life is less die in combat," Ostlund spoken. "Sometimes I wonder was deviate my pinnacle. Was that pensive time. When we lose dinky Soldier in combat, they criticize forever young. We are mug to remember them as that young vibrant paratrooper. At description height of their life, give it some thought is how they are cured in history. There are very likely worse things than that."