After serving 4yrs in the U.S. Army, I enrolled in an Electronics Technology (ET) program at a local community college. I had taken Electronics classes all 3 years in high school prior to entering the service, and after leaving the service I decided working in the field of Electronics was what I wanted to do for a living. I completed the ET program 2yrs later and worked initially as an Electronics Tech (later as a Jr. Electronics Engineer) at various companies in Silicon Valley for the next 11yrs. After this I decided to change careers and started working in the Information Technology (IT) field, which I did for the remainder of my working years. I first started working in the Network Security field in 2000, and now work as a Sr. Network Engineer in a team supporting a global network security infrastructure.
UPDATE: I officially retired in early 2018... I had worked for a total of 38yrs in Silicon Valley and decided it was time for the next chapter in my life. So what do I do with all of my free time these days? Pretty much whatever I damn well please! Retirement is a wonderful thing.
Other Comments:
Info on my MOS (at the start and at the end of all of my unit assignments):
- Ft. Knox (Reception, BCT): 09B0O (Trainee) at start, 09B1O (Trainee Unassigned) at end.
- Fort Polk (Infantry AIT): 11B0O at start, 11B1O at end (note the 1O: MOS Skill Level = 10, SQI = O).
- Ft. Bliss (Redeye Gunner Crs.): 11B1O at start, 11B1OR6 at end (R6 = Redeye Designator).
- Coleman Kaserne, Germany (2Bn 48Inf, 2Bde 3AD, USAREUR): 11B1OR6 at start, 11B4OR6 (MOS Skill Level = 40) at end. (I also earned a 63C (Wheeled/Tracked Vehicle Mechanic) SMOS while I was stationed in Germany, which was upgraded to 63C4O by the time I left the service.)
Add'l info on my MOS (SQI and ASI):
The fifth position in the MOS is called the SQI, or Special Qualifications Identifier- note this is a letter field for enlisted ranks, not a number field. If you have no special qualifications that fall into this category (like me), the letter 'O' is listed in this field to indicate that- not a 0 (zero). There's apparently been a lot of confusion about this over the years- even my own military records occasionally list a 0 (zero) in this position instead of the correct letter 'O'.
The sixth and seventh position in the MOS is called the ASI, or Additional Skill Identifier. An ASI (which is either a letter/number combo or a number/letter combo) indicates add'l training that you've received related to the MOS the ASI is attached to. For me, the 'R6' ASI at the end of my 11B PMOS indicates add'l Redeye Gunner (Air Defense) training I received- a skill which would've been used to protect our 2-48 Infantry Battalion from airborne threats during combat.
Signed,
SGT Michael L. Fouts
PMOS: 11B4OR6 (Infantryman, Redeye Gunner)
SMOS: 63C4O (Wheeled/Tracked Vehicle Mechanic)
CSC 2Bn 48Inf (Dragoons), Bn Motto: 'We Set the Pace'
Coleman Kaserne, 2Bde (aka, the 'Iron Brigade')
3AD, USAREUR / Gelnhausen, West Germany
Instructors My Drill Instructor during the time I was with D-17-5 in BCT at Fort Knox was SFC Massey. He was your typical hardcore Vietnam-era DI, doing his best to shape young trainees into U.S. Army soldiers. I (as well as other trainees I suspect) could argue about some of his methods back then, but I surely couldn't argue about his motives. He helped make a soldier out of me, and I owe him for that.
Other Memories General thoughts:
Looking back, Basic Combat Training (BCT), and Orientation before that, at Fort Knox was a complete shock to the system- of course it's meant to be. The only life I had ever known was a civilian one... and the indoctrination into military life (at the age of 18) was quick, forceful and to the point. Even in the short (only a few days long?) Orientation phase, we were busy every day, all day, with something we needed to do to slide into military service- getting haircuts, uniforms and gear, getting vaccinated, getting assigned our bunks and footlockers, etc, etc. And then the shit really hit the fan in BCT. The DI's were tough on anyone and everyone- Trainees were all we were at that point- you must earn the right to be called a soldier. Even visits to the mess hall were extremely rushed and you were monitored by the DI's constantly. Pressure, speed, paying attention and doing everything you were taught correctly- as well as executing as a team- were all watchwords of every day I spent in BCT. Welcome to the U.S. Army, Trainee!
Unit assignments:
The initial BCT unit I was assigned to at Fort Knox was 2nd Platoon D-17-5 (D Company, 17th Battalion, 5th Training Brigade). After several weeks in this unit, I became ill with an upper respiratory infection (URI) and was quarantined along with many others in a separate barracks until my high fever and illness passed. As a result, I missed several days of training (impacting two different training weeks) and was then transferred to the A-18-5 unit to make up my missed training days (since their training was 2 weeks behind ours). In the end, it took me 11 weeks to complete my BCT at Fort Knox instead of the usual 9 weeks.
