Colonel Joseph L. A. Fournier was commissioned as an Infantry Officer upon graduation from OCS Class #6 on 6 November 1963. His first duty assignment was as Platoon Leader, Company F, 4th Training Regiment, Fort Dix, New Jersey. | His subsequent duty assignments include: Company Commander, Fort Dix, New Jersey; Instructor, Fort Dix, New Jersey; Company Commander and S3, Camp Casey, Korea; Company Commander, Fort Jackson, South Carolina; Company  Commander, Fort Dix, New Jersey; Corrections Officer, Fort Gordon, Georgia; S3, 716th Military Police Battalion, Saigon, Republic of Vietnam; Operations Officer and Detachment Commander, Berlin Brigade; Soviet Area Analyst, Pentagon; Provost Marshal, Berlin Brigade; Deputy Provost Marshal, Fort McPherson, Georgia; and Provost Marshal, FORSCOM, Fort McPherson, Georgia. | Colonel Fournier was serving as Commander, Military Police Command, Fort Clayton, Panama, at the time of his induction. | He is a graduate of the Military Police Officers Advanced Course, the Defense Language Institute (Russian and Spanish), the Command and General Staff College, the Foreign Area Officers Course, the National Security Management Course, the Air War College, and the Army War College. | His military awards include: Bronze Star, Meritorious Service Medal w/3 Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Commendation Medal w/5 Oak Leaf Cluster, Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Army Occupational Medal, Vietnam Service Ribbon, Army Service Ribbon, Vietnamese Air Medal of Honor (1st Class), and 3 other Vietnamese Service Medals.