Chatham resident Lars Olson enlists in New York Army National Guard to serve as helicopter pilot

Olson will serve in the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation flying UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters after completing training

Latham, NY (10/20/2020) — Chatham resident Lars Olson, the owner of Lars Olsen Tennis, a tennis instruction service, has enlisted in the New York Army National Guard to become a UH-60 helicopter pilot.

Olson, age 23, enlisted in the New York Army National Guard on October 14 under the Army's "street-to-seat" program. After attending Army Basic Training he will attend Warrant Officer Candidate School and then report to the Fort Rucker, Alabama and the Army's Initial Entry Rotary Wing Training.

After completing his training, Olsen will join the 3rd Battalion, 142nd Aviation which flies UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters at the Army Aviation Support Facility at Albany International Airport in Latham.

While it is relatively common for aviators to enter the Active Army through this route, Army National Guard pilot usually serve as enlisted Soldiers for a few years before entering the flight program.

Olson is the first person to enter the New York Army National Guard's aviation community through this program, according to Sgt. 1st Class Barbara Morgan a New York Army National Guard recruiter.

Olson enlisted at the Albany Military Entrance Process Station but because of pandemic restrictions his family could not be there for the enlistment ceremony.

The New York Army National Guard restaged the enlistment at the Latham flight facility on Friday, October 16, so that Olson's family could be present.

Olson said he was inspired to join the Army National Guard has a helicopter pilot because of his father John Olson, who served in the Army in Vietnam from 1967 to 1968, earning a Purple Heart and Bronze Star with valor."He always spoke really highly of the helicopter pilots that he knew in Vietnam," Lars Olson said.

He decided to join the Guard over the Active Army because he wanted to remain in the community and serve his state, Olson explained.

His father John said he thought it was a great opportunity for Lars."I think the public really underrates the opportunity the National Guard delivers to young people today and I'm very excited for him," John Olson said.

Helicopters are the cavalry of today's military, John Olson said. As the only staff photographer permanently assigned to the Stars and Stripes newspaper, John said he relied on Army helicopters to take him into battles such as Khe Sahn and Hue, two of the biggest engagements of the war.

Army Basic Training takes 10 weeks and Warrant Officer Candidate School takes another six weeks. The Fort Rucker initial flight course takes 32 weeks. The next phase of training, in which Olson will learn to fly the UH-60 takes another 14 weeks.

Olson said he was looking forward to the training.

"Learning to fly, moving away from here for a little bit, experiencing something new and seeing other parts of the country," said Lars. "And then I can't wait to come back here and be part of the community again."

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