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
Some of my close friends while I was assigned to BCo 2-48 included Robert (Bob) Briggs, Kevin (KC) Wood, Steve Hanks (who was actually in CCo), Donn (Otis) Rice, Carroll (CC) Collins, John McCrory and Mike Sheriff. Sadly, some of these friends have since passed away- including Bob Briggs, and I believe Mike Sheriff. That said, I am still in touch with Steve Hanks who was one of my closest friends back in the day- and I've also been in touch with a few others on this list, but that was long ago now. Looking back, I was blessed to have these friends in my (military) life- they helped me make it through the 3 1/2 years I would eventually serve in Germany.
Best Moment
(information pending - to be added shortly)
Worst Moment
One of the worst moments in the service for me happened a few months after I arrived in Germany and joined BCo 2Bn 48Inf. I received notice that my grandmother was in the hospital back home (in critical condition), and the First Sergeant (Perry D. Lee) told me to get on a flight home right away. By the time I got back home, my Grandmother had unfortunately already passed away. As a result, my mother had a lot of pressure on her at that point- her mother had passed away, she divorced my father years earlier, and she had two kids still at home to take care of.
I really wanted to be there to support her, and because of that I nearly went AWOL when I arrived at the airport on the east coast getting ready to head back to Germany after the funeral. Between the pressure my Mom was under, and the pressure on me facing another 3 years left in the Army before I could return home to support her- I actually left the airport terminal and was getting ready to hitch a ride. I had it all planned out in my mind to head to Chicago where my Aunt lived, go to the nearest military base there and claim hardship. But I thought about all of that for a bit, and I then turned around and returned to the terminal and got on that plane headed back to Germany. It was a hard decision to make peace with at the time, but in this case the hard thing was the right thing to do.
Chain of Command
Company Commander: CPT Walter T. Strother
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 W. 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 with 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.
Finally, here's a list of the vehicles I was qualified to drive and work on, per the 63C SMOS I received while working in the motor pool during my time with B Company (from 1973-75):
