Chase Rasmussen Graduates Army Basics
Launch the media gallery 1 playerBy Brody Coulter
Chase Rasmussen, a semester graduate with the class of 2025 at Pierce High, shipped out to basic training to begin his military career in Fort Moore, Georgia, on January 6 of this year.
Now, three months later, Rasmussen is graduating from boot camp and is officially a trained U.S. soldier. He will now attend job training for 13 weeks to become a Cavalry Scout for the United States Army. A Cavalry Scout’s role is to track and report enemy movements and activities.
When asked why he decided to join the military, Rasmussen says, “I joined the military because it provides me with a way to get a college degree debt-free. I also get to serve my country and help people in need.”
Rasmussen is also not the first in his family to join the military. His mother, Katie Rasmussen, was also in the Army National Guard for eight years.
“We have always challenged Chase to work hard for what he wants. Joining the army is the biggest challenge Chase will face,” his mother, Katie Rasmussen says. “Watching him top out in academics, get promoted at work, and accomplish what very few Americans accomplish is sincerely my proudest moment. He never ceases to amaze me.”
The hardest part of basic training, C. Rasmussen replied was “Definitely having to spend so much time away from my friends and family with very limited communication.”
“Chase has a God given gift of intelligence and physical strength,” Chase’s father Josh Rassmussen says.
He has endured hours of physical training, was on the top side of his class academically and had to handle some tough love.
“Chase is an absolute legend in the making and we are very, very proud of him and the man he has become,” his dad replies.
Basic training lasts for 10 weeks, and recruits often do not get their phones more than once a week, and only if the drill sergeants allow. Making communication and contact with loved ones relatively limited.
However, basic training is not all bad. Rasmussen says meeting new people from around the country, shooting guns, and blowing things up were his favorite parts of basic training.
In the end, Rasmussen says it was a good experience and he is glad he was able to do it. Rasmussen will be coming home on June 10 and attending the University of Nebraska-Lincoln this fall.