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
Description Exercise Reforger (from return of forces to Germany) was an annual exercise conducted, during the Cold War, by NATO. The exercise was intended to ensure that NATO had the ability to quickly deploy forces to West Germany in the event of a conflict with the Warsaw Pact.
The Reforger exercise itself was first conceived in 1967. The Johnson administration announced plans to withdraw approximately two divisions from Europe during 1968. As a demonstration of its continuing commitment to the defense of NATO and to illustrate its capability of rapid reinforcement, a large scale force deployment was planned that would deploy a division or more to West Germany in a regular annual exercise. The first such exercise was conducted beginning on 6 January 1969. These exercises continued annually past the end of the Cold War, except for the year 1989, until 1993.
This year's REFORGER exercise took place during the period 30 September-21 November 1974. In the first phase of the three-part exercise, the U.S. Air Force, using C-5 and C-141 aircraft, transported over 11,400 soldiers from the 1st Infantry Division, the 212th Artillery Group, the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment, and other units based in the United States to airfields in the Federal Republic of Germany. The units received prepositioned sets of equipment and then moved to assembly areas. CERTAIN PLEDGE, the field training phase of REFORGER, involved the airlifted units, as well as U.S. Army, Europe; German; and Canadian forces in extensive offensive and defensive exercises during the period 10-23 October 1974. The final phase began on 24 October 1974 when the airlifted units test-fired large-caliber weapons and performed the maintenance necessary to prepare the prepositioned stocks for storage. During this phase, tactical operations center personnel from the airlifted units participated in command post exercise CERTAIN RESOLVE. Afterward, the units departed Nurnberg and Ramstein Air Force bases and returned to their home stations by 21 November 1974.
Major units: (Germany-based units) USAREUR (U.S. Army Europe): 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, Nuremberg; 1st Armored Division, Ansbach. (U.S. based units): 1st Infantry Division (Mech), 1st Cavalry Division, 8th Infantry Division, Bad Kreuznach.
