She served from 1959 to 1989, rising to the rank of brigadier general in 1986, and holds many firsts for women in the United States Army.

Other key assignments include command of the 2d Basic Training Battalion, United States Army Military Police School and Training Center, Fort McClellan, Alabama; service as Director of Personnel Management Systems, Department of Command and Management, the United States Army War College, Carlisle Barracks, Pennsylvania; and Commander, 42d Military Police Group, United States Army, Europe and Seventh United States Army.

The German government awarded her the Bundesverdienstkreuz, Erste Klasse, for her service as Command of the 42 Military Police Group, 1983 to 1985.

In December 1996, she was recalled to active duty to serve as Vice Chair of the Secretary of the Army's Senior Review Panel on Sexual Harassment.

On October 1, 1997, Foote returned to retired status and served as a Consultant to the Office of the Secretary of the Army through July 1998, briefing military leaders and various organizations concerning the Senior Review Panel's report, its findings and its recommendations.

From 1998 to 2007, she served as president of the Alliance for National Defense, a non-profit organization that supports women in the military.