Colonel Ernest C. O'Steen was commissioned an Infantry Officer upon graduation from Officer Candidate School in August 1951. His first duty assignment was as Instructor, Training Division and Army Service School. | His subsequent duty assignments include: Platoon Leader and Company commander, 7th Infantry Division, Korea; Company Commander, Battalion S-1 and S-2, 505th Airborne Infantry Regiment, Fort Bragg, North Carolina; Commander and Assistant, Company A and Assistant, Nancy, France; J-4, United States Strike Command, Logistics Plans Officer; J-3, Headquarters, MACV, Vietnam; Commander, 7th AIT Battalion, Fort Gordon, Georgia; Staff Officer, Operations directorate, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Washington; Garrison Commander, Camp Zama, Japan; Inspector General, U.S. Army, Japan; Director of Human Resources and Director of Personnel and Community Activities, United States Training Center, Fort Dix, New Jersey. | Colonel O'Steen's awards and decorations include: Senior Parachutist Badge, combat Infantryman Badge, Army commendation Medal, Joint Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal, Bronze Star (V Device and Oak Leaf Cluster).