Welcome

David Osterhout was born in Ranger, Texas. After moving to several small towns in east Texas, he graduated high school in Madisonville in 1971 (Go Mustangs). After attending Texas Tech University for one year studying engineering, he decided that calculus and the FORTRAN computer language were things best left to really smart people. Changing academic gears, he graduated from Sam Houston State University in 1975 with a BS degree in criminal justice.

Not being able to quickly find a suitable law enforcement job, David joined the US Army as a private first class. After 76 weeks of training, including Officer Candidate School, Second Lieutenant Osterhout volunteered to go to Korea, instead, he was assigned to the 172d Light Infantry Brigade in Alaska. In Alaska he spent his two years as a Brigade Assistant S-2 Intelligence Office. His mission was preparing for and fighting the Cold War. The Cold War was both figurative and literal considering the location of the assignment.

Determined to get to Korea, First Lieutenant Osterhout inter-theater transferred to Korea in 1980 as the Battalion S-2 Intelligence Officer of the most forward deployed infantry battalion in Korea. He spent almost all of his tour in and around the Demilitarized Zone. After receiving a severe injury while on patrol in the DMZ, he flew in a C-9 Nightingale medevac airplane home to San Antonio where he spent eight months in Brooke Army Medical Center. Here is where he penned the manuscript for the book OinK! Only in Korea! as a way of getting all of the bad memories out of his head and on to paper.

Placed on TDRL (Temporary Disabled Retired List), Captain Osterhout attended Southwest Texas State University and received a BBA in accounting in 1983. The month he graduated from SW Texas State, he was examined by the Army Medical Board, and declared permanently unfit for duty and was discharged from the army  At this point, Mr. Osterhout began working as an accountant at San Antonio State Hospital, Department of State Health Services. His career ladder led him across West Texas to three other state hospitals. His first major promotion landed him at Kerrville State Hospital in 1988 where he earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Our Lady of the Lake University. His next significant promotion took him to Big Spring State Hospital in 1992. Finally in 2003, he was promoted to Assistant Superintendent at El Paso Psychiatric Center.

After 9/11, Mr. Osterhout joined the Texas State Guard and rose up through the ranks and is a Colonel with the Texas State Guard headquarters.

In 1998, Mr. Osterhout married the love of his life, Cheryl Parrish from Coahoma, Texas (Go Bulldogs). Cheryl is a registered nurse and they have worked together for 20 years.