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
I was close to quite a few members of the Redeye Section when I was transferred to CSC in Apr of '75... it was a fairly small group, so it was pretty easy to get to know everyone. Some of my closest friends in this group included Trygg (Stump) Andersen, Jessie Calloway, Michael Hight, Tom Woodell... and I might've forgotten 1 or 2 others. Despite being transferred to CSC, I was still in touch with my good friends at B and C Company (though some of these friends completed their military service before I did). I still miss the Redeye Section today, some teams you never forget.
Best Moment
One of the best moments for me, in the entire time I was in the service, was when I was chosen to represent my unit (CSC, 2Bn 48Inf) by participating in the annual Redeye Missile live-fire exercise held at Grafenwoehr in 1976. There was only one Redeye Section in our entire Battalion, so I wasn't just representing our Section or my Company- I was representing my entire Battalion as well. Was I nervous during my live-fire, with a grandstand full of military personnel and soldiers watching me? You bet. But I fell back on my training, did what I was taught to do, and I scored a direct hit (as opposed to a tactical kill) on the BATS target that day- I was actually one of the few gunners in 3d Armored Division to do so. I would eventually be commended by the 3d Armored Division and the 2-48 Battalion Commander for my performance while attached to the Redeye Section in CSC from Apr of '75 to Sep of '76.
Chain of Command
Company Commander: CPT Willie B. Nance Jr.
Other Memories
There were 3 standard field maneuvers (3-4wks each) we went on every year, for 3 1/2yrs: Grafenwoehr, Hohenfels, and Wildflecken (in winter). There were also various other field exercises that we participated in as well: REFORGER (Return of Forces to Germany, or How to Move 10 Divisions in 10 Days), Guard duty at the Miesau Munitions Depot, 'Combat in Cities' training in Berlin, winter training in Munich, etc. It was always nice to get back to Garrison (Coleman Kaserne, Gelnhausen) after any field duty. I had a walking stick that had hash marks cut on it for every field exercise I went on... by the end of my 3 1/2yr tour in Germany I had about 13 hash marks on that stick.
