Military Spotlight: Man Serves Three Branches Of The Military

For many men and women considering a military career, deciding which branch best suits them is one of the hardest decisions they will make. For one Severna Park resident, the decision was simple; he would just serve three.

Ozzie Osborne knew he wanted to be a pilot at a young age.

“My stepfather was a Maryland state policeman,” he said. “When I was 10 years old, he got me up for a helicopter ride in the Maryland State Police helicopter, and I loved flying.”

While he was in the 10th grade at Severna Park High School, Osborne decided he was going to the Naval Academy to become a pilot. Though he had good grades, many people told him that he would have a difficult time getting accepted.

“It's really hard for an Anne Arundel County kid to get in,” said Osborne. “I always like challenges. Give me something that most people can’t do and I’ll go try it.”

Despite what everyone said, Osborne attended the Naval Academy, where he majored in applied sciences with a focus in business management, and he minored in naval engineering. After he graduated in 1985, Osborne could not get a pilot slot with the Navy, but his last duty station was with VF-45 adversary squadron in Key West, Florida, in the backseat of his favorite aircraft, the F-16N. Looking back, Osborne said this was his favorite assignment.

“All we did was dog fight,” said Osborne. “When you get to that level of flying, the adrenaline rush is amazing and addicting.”

After five years with the Navy, Osborne was ready for his next adventure, Army flight school.

“Those guys did a lot of teaching with me because all of those guys were Navy instructor pilots,” said Osborne. “By the time I went to the Army flight school, I graduated number one in my class.”

Osborne finished flight school and joined the Army Guard in Maryland, where he flew AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters.

“My Army uniform had all Navy ribbons,” said Osborne. “They were sort of looking at me all strange. When it came down to the Army-Navy game, I was the only guy rooting for Navy.”

After another five years with the Army, Osborne accepted an agent position with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in Baltimore. He investigated violent crimes and bank robberies, and he was eventually sent to Washington D.C. to work on counterterrorism. Due to FBI policies at the time, Osborne was not allowed to do reserve duty and work for the Bureau. Osborne did reserve duty with the West Virginia Air National Guard and began to pilot for Atlantic Coast Airline out of Dulles International Airport.

After the September 11, 2001 attacks, Osborne took a leave of absence from the airline. During this time, Osborne was deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. After demobilization, he took a year and a half set of orders in Crystal City, Virginia, which was eventually extended another four years.

With a desire to make a difference, Osborne did many amazing things in his military career. One of his proudest accomplishments is conducting a study on government response to disasters, such as terrorist attacks, earthquakes, hurricanes and pandemics. The study had been briefed to both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama.

“There was some really unique stuff that I got to do for the country, so it's been a heck of a good ride,” said Osborne.

Osborne received an active duty retirement from the Air National Guard in 2014 after over 27 years of duty. In his long career, he flew over 30 different aircraft. He works as a pilot for JetBlue in his retirement, and many people have asked him to consider writing a book about his experiences.

“It's been a ton of different airplanes, but definitely a fun ride to say the least,” said Osborne.

Osborne said that his story is unique, but he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“You will find there are enough of us out there that have done two branches, but in all my running around, I've only heard of one other person who has done three,” said Osborne. “When one door closed, I just wasn't ready to accept it, so I opened the door to a different branch.”