After basic training at Fort Belvoir, he served overseas with the 9th Infantry Division and participated in the invasion of Port Lyautey, Morocco.

From ROTC duty he was assigned to Continental Army Command Armor Board at Fort Knox, Kentucky, remaining there until reassignment to South Korea in 1960.

Upon completion of his tour in South Korea, Van Autreve returned to Fort Belvoir and was promoted to sergeant major in 1962.

Van Autreve saw increasing the standards of the army's non-commissioned officer (NCO) corps as his highest priority.

[1] In 1994, the Sergeant Audie Murphy Club designated Fort Sam Houston, Texas, as the SMA Van Autreve Chapter.