Austyn Olsen is a senior at Potosi High School. After high school, Austyn plans on attending Southwest Technical College for criminal justice and officially joining the National Guard.
When Austyn was working his part-time job at Menards in Platteville, WI, an Army recruiter came up to him. The recruiter gave Austyn information about the National Guard and what they have to offer. Austyn did not think much about the offer; in fact, at the time, he had no intentions to join the military.
As months went by, he started to think about the option of going to the military more often. After a long and hard thought process, Austyn decided to enlist in the National Guard. The reason for his decision was, “I needed to find a purpose and to straighten out my life,” he says.
The next step for Austyn, after early graduation, will be heading off to basic training. He will be leaving for basic training in January or February of 2025, and will head off to Fort Moore in Georgia. He will be doing 10 weeks of basic training at Fort Moore.
After basic, he will be moved from the rank of E4 Corporal to E5 Sergeant, then in May he will go to Advanced Individual Training at Fort Moore for 23 more weeks. Advanced Individual Training he will be doing javelin infantry. After all of the training, Austyn will be ranked up again to some rank of Sergeant. Austyn will go back home and attend Southwest Tech for criminal justice. Austyn will still be stationed at Fort McCoy in Tomah, WI for at least one weekend a month and for one week every month in the summers.