General John W. Foss enlisted in the 136th Infantry of the Minnesota National Guard in April 1950. He joined the Regular Army in 1951 as an Infantryman, was later admitted to the United States Military Academy at West Point and was commissioned in the Infantry after graduation in 1956.

He has held a variety of Command and Staff positions, both overseas and in the U.S. He has eight overseas tours including four in Europe and four in the Far East. General Foss served as a platoon leader in the 504th and 187th Airborne Infantry in both Germany and Lebanon and commmanded a rifle company in the 3rd Battalion, 32nd Infantry in Korea. He served two tours in combat in Vietnam with the 4th Infantry Division as Operations Officer, 2nd Brigade, and as the Commander of the 3rd Battalion, 12th Infantry.

General Foss commanded the 3rd Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division; the U.S. Army Infantry Center and School at Fort Benning; the 82nd Airborne Division; and the XVIII Airborne Corps at Fort Bragg. While in command of XVIII Airborne Corps, he deployed corps units on emergency operational deployment to Honduras, Panama and the Persian Gulf.

As Commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, Gen. Foss served as Commander of the Multinational Force of Observers (MFO) organization in the Sinai.

Other assignments include the G-3 of III Corps; Chief of the Joint Military Advisory Group, Manila, Phillipines; Commanding General, Seventh Army Training Command in Germany; the Chief of Infantry, U.S. Army, the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Department of the Army; and Commanding General, Training and Doctrine Command (TRADOC).

General Foss holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the United States Military Academy and a Master's Degree in Public Administration from Shippensburg State College. His awards include the Distinguished Service Medal (with two Oak Leaf Clusters), the Air Force Distinguished Service Medal, Silver Star (with Oak Leaf CLuster), Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit (with Oak Leaf Cluster), the Distinguished Flying Cross and 30 other U.S. and allied awards. He wears the Ranger Tab, Expert Infantryman's Badge, Combat Infantryman's Badge and the Master Parachutist Badge with over 300 military jumps. He has been awarded British, Philippine, Honduran and Egyptian parachute badges and the Army General Staff and Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badges. General Foss was inducted into the Ranger Hall of Fame in 1995.