FORT LARAMIE – The new Chief of Interpretation and Visitor Services at Fort Laramie National Historic Site is no stranger to Goshen County and Southeast Wyoming. Casey Osback, who transferred in August from Badlands National Park (South Dakota) after serving 11 years as chief ranger, is originally from Torrington. Osback will provide leadership and oversight of the park’s interpretation (resource education) and visitor services programs. 

“It was a thrill and great opportunity to bring Casey back to Fort Laramie”, says Superintendent Mark Davison, “His loyalty and passion is second to none of this area and site.” 

Osback grew up in Torrington starting his NPS career as a fourteen-year-old park volunteer in May 1989. Graduating from Torrington High School (THS) in 1993, he attended two years at Eastern Wyoming College (EWC) transferring to Chadron State College (CSC) in 1995 where he earned a Bachelor of Arts Degree in History (August 1997). 

He has had a life-long passion for the fort since he was a child. “I can remember going to the fort when I was a kid with my family. As far back as I can remember, I’ve been fascinated with the history of the park, the people, and the fort’s structures. When I wasn’t at Fort Laramie, I was drawing pictures of the buildings and watching John Wayne in classic westerns, such as Horse Soldiers and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.” 

After seven summer seasons (1989-1996) and graduating from Chadron State College (CSC) in 1997, Osback secured a full-time position in the National Park Service (NPS) as a field interpreter (park ranger) on the National Mall in Washington D.C. In 2000, he transferred to Salinas Pueblo Missions (New Mexico). Additional assignments have included Agate Fossil Beds (Nebraska), Mount Rushmore National Memorial (South Dakota), Lake Mead National Recreation Area (Arizona/Nevada), Jewel Cave National Monument (South Dakota), and Badlands National Park (South Dakota). 

Osback is a graduate of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC, 2002). In mid-August, after 22 years in NPS law enforcement, he retired his credentials after serving as the longest chief park ranger at Badlands National Park with direct oversight and leadership in the park’s patrol, investigations, emergency medical services (EMS), search & rescue (SAR), fee collection and fire operations. Throughout his tenure in NPS police work, Osback was a Field Training Officer (FTO), member of the NPS Honor Guard Team, and a Taskforce Officer (TFO) with the United States Marshal Service (USMS) Black Hills Interagency Taskforce (Rapid City, SD). Osback has been filmed on A&E’s Live PD-Warrants and the Weather Channel. He has been a recipient of various NPS awards including the Department of the Interior’s (DOI) prestigious Valor Award for heroism. Osback is a historian and writer. He recently published an article linked to Fort Laramie entitled, Mistaken Identities of Two Young Shavetails, Second Lieutenant Caspar Collins, 11th Ohio Volunteer Cavalry and Second Lieutenant George O. Webster, 4th United States Infantry (Annals of Wyoming, Winter Edition, 2022). 

Osback, along with his wife and family, will call Torrington home.

Admission to the Fort Laramie National Historic Site is always free, so bring the family. For more information, visit the park website at www.nps.gov/fola or call the park at 307-837-2221. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. 

www.nps.gov. 

About the National Park Service: More than 20,000 National Park Service employees care for America’s 419 national parks and work with communities across the nation to help preserve local history and create close-to-home recreational opportunities. Learn more at www.nps.gov