John W . Foss General John William Foss is a retired United States Army four - star general , and former commander of the United States Army Training and Doctrine Command . Military career . Foss was born in Hutchinson , Minnesota on February 13 , 1933 . He began his military career when he enlisted in the Minnesota National Guard ' s 136th Infantry Regiment in April , 1950 . He transferred to active duty as an infantryman in 1951 , and received an appointment to the United 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 in Asia . Foss served as a platoon leader in the 504th and 187th Infantry Regiments in both Germany and Lebanon and commanded a rifle company in the 3rd Battalion , 32nd Infantry in Korea . 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 and Fort Benning ; the 82nd Airborne Division ; the XVIII Airborne Corps and Fort Bragg ; and Commanding General , Training and Doctrine Command ( TRADOC ) . He has also served as an instructor at the United States Military Academy ; the first exchange instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst ; 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 a Master ’ s degree in Public Administration from Shippensburg State College . His awards include the Army Distinguished Service Medal with two Oak Leaf Cluster s , the Air 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 the Ranger Tab , Expert Infantryman Badge , Combat Infantryman Badge , the Master Parachutist Badge with over 300 jumps , and the Army Staff Identification and Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge s . He has been awarded parachute badges from the United Kingdom , Philippines , Honduras , and Egypt . Foss was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 1995 . Post military . He retired from the Army on September 1 , 1991 and lives in Williamsburg , 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 the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs and the National 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 the Association of the United States Army . In September 2009 , Foss was awarded the Doughboy Award by the National Infantry Association . Personal . Currently he resides with his wife , Gloria ; and cat ( Ginger ) . He has three grown children : John W . Foss , Jr . , ( wife Theresa ) , Houston , TX currently flying MEDEVAC in Afghanistan with the Texas National Guard ; Kevin M . Foss ( wife Cristina ) , Portsmouth , VA , currently teaching Biology , Chemistry and Marine Science at Chesapeake Bay Academy , Virginia Beach , VA and Julia Dunn ( husband Jimmy ) of Virginia Beach , VA . Through Julia the Foss ' have three grandchildren : Bryana , Kyla and Brady .