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 After 1951, its range served as a US Army training base operated by the 7th Army Training Command in Grafenwöhr, Germany.
Called "The Top of the Rock" the small post was among the most feared and disliked of all training areas due to high altitude and extreme weather conditions. The post was home to tank ranges and artillery ranges in addition to standard training ranging. Additionally, it was one of only a few training sites allowed by the German government to utilize CS gas in training.
