- John W. Foss
Infobox Military Person
name=John W. Foss
born= Birth date and age|1933|2|13
died=
caption=General John W. Foss
nickname=
placeofbirth= Hutchinson,Minnesota
placeofdeath=
placeofburial=
allegiance= United States of America
branch=United States Army
serviceyears=1950-1952 (enlisted) 1956-1991 (officer)
rank= General
unit=
commands=U.S. Army Training and Doctrine Command XVIII Airborne Corps82nd Airborne Division
battles=Vietnam War
awards=Silver Star (2)Legion of Merit (2) Distinguished Flying Cross
relations=
laterwork=General John William Foss is a retired United States Army four star general, and former commander of theUnited States Army Training and Doctrine Command .Military career
Foss was born in Hutchinson,
Minnesota onFebruary 13 ,1933 . He began his military career when he enlisted in theMinnesota National Guard 's 136th Infantry Regiment in April, 1950. He transferred to active duty as an infantryman in 1951, and received an appointment to theUnited States Military Academy , and was commissioned in the infantry in 1956.He has held a variety of command and staff positions. His overseas tours include four in
Europe and four inAsia . Foss served as a platoon leader in the 504th and 187th Infantry Regiments in bothGermany andLebanon and commanded a rifle company in the 3rd Battalion, 32nd Infantry inKorea . He served two combat tours in Vietnam with the 4th Infantry Division as the Operations Officer, 2nd Brigade and as the commander of the 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry.His commands include the 3d Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division; the
United States Army Infantry School andFort Benning ; the82nd Airborne Division ; theXVIII Airborne Corps andFort Bragg ; and Commanding General, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).He has also served as the G-3 of III Corps; Chief of the Joint Military Advisory Group,
Manila, Philippines ; Commanding General, Seventh Army Training Command in Germany; the U.S. Army Chief of Infantry; and the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Department of the Army.In addition to a
Bachelor of Science degree, he holds aMaster’s degree in Public Administration fromShippensburg State College . His awards include theArmy Distinguished Service Medal with twoOak Leaf Cluster s, theAir Force Distinguished Service Medal ,Silver Star with Oak Leaf Clusters,Defense Superior Service Medal ,Legion of Merit with Oak Leaf Clusters, the Distinguished Flying Cross and many other U.S. and allied awards. He has also earned theRanger Tab ,Expert Infantryman Badge ,Combat Infantryman Badge , theMaster Parachutist Badge with over 300 jumps, and the Army Staff Identification andJoint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge s. He has been awarded parachute badges from theUnited Kingdom , Philippines,Honduras , andEgypt . Foss was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 1995.Post military
He retired from the Army on
September 1 ,1991 and lives inWilliamsburg, Virginia . In retirement Foss has been Chairman of the Commission on the U.S. Army Reserve Command, served as a consultant to various defense industries, been on the Board of Advisors to both theJewish Institute for National Security Affairs and theNational Infantry Foundation , Senior Mentor to Senior Joint Warfighting Course,Armed Forces Staff College and is a Senior Fellow of the Institute of Land Warfare of theAssociation of the United States Army .ee also
References
* [http://www.jinsa.org/about/adboard/adboard.html?documentid=720 Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs bio]
* [http://www.nationalinfantryfoundation.org/advisor_foss.shtml National Infantry Foundation bio]
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