JOINT BASE SAN ANTONIO-FORT SAM HOUSTON, Texas (April 7, 2014) -- If there's any question of the influence a football coach has on the lives of youth in which they come into contact, one contracting director can affirm that it set him on the path to serve his nation for more than a half century.
At 17 years old, Carl Foshay sought the advice of his coach and joined the Marines. His decision to enter into the supply occupation specialty would be the start of a contracting career that would span more than 52 years.
Foshay retired March 31 as the director of Mission and Installation Contracting Command-Fort Leavenworth, Kan., where he has served since February 2007.
The Pearl River, N.Y., native served 20 years on active duty, which included tours in Hawaii; Parris Island, S.C.; Okinawa, Japan; Washington, D.C.; Barstow, Calif.; and Norfolk, Va. His time in uniform also included service in Vietnam from 1965 to 1966 where by day he worked in contracting and by night guarded a perimeter and other duties. Foshay retired from the Marines as a gunnery sergeant in 1982 and chose to seek federal service as a civilian.
"Options were limited with six kids at home; it was an opportunity," Foshay said.
Among his fondest memories of civilian service is the 18 years he spent in Germany where he served in a variety of supervisory and leadership positions at Wiesbaden, Grafenwoher and Bad Kreuznach. But it was an empty nest and family stateside that brought Foshay and his wife, Dianne, back to the United States, where he would join the contracting office at Fort Leavenworth as director of contracting.
Brig. Gen. Jeffrey Gabbert, the MICC commanding general, officiated the retirement ceremony and said Foshay's accomplishments over more than 52 years of government service can be found in the valuable legacy he leaves in the form of his staff. The general invited the MICC-Fort Leavenworth staff of more than 30 civilians and Soldiers attending the ceremony to share their thoughts on the director's impact, and all were quick to voice their appreciation for what Foshay did for them individually and the office.
"There were no lack of respectful and glowing comments from the entirety of both the civilian and military staff," said Curt Cummins, the acting director and chief of the MICC-Leavenworth Mission Support Division.
The reciprocal significance of those words was also reflected in Foshay's genuine call to continue serving over all those years.
"Providing contract support and taking care of my military -- the Soldiers and their families and civilians who work for the government," Foshay said, "that is what I was there to do."
Foshay and his wife plan to spend their days in retirement traveling and spending time with their family that includes six grandchildren and 10 great grandchildren. In between road trips, he plans to spend a little time on the golf course.
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