[2] He was in a Marine Detachment on the USS Lexington (CV-16) and a guard company at Naval Auxiliary Air Station Edenton, North Carolina.

Ambassador Miles worked for Senator Ernest F. Hollings (D-SC) on an American Political Science Fellowship in 1983-1984, and in 1987-1988 he was a fellow at Harvard University's Center for International Affairs.

From April 2006 until December 2006, he served as Executive Director of the Open World Leadership Center headquartered in the Library of Congress.

In November 2008, Ambassador Miles was recalled to active duty to serve as Charge of the American Embassy in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan.

In 2004, he was the recipient of the State Department's Robert C. Frasure Award for peaceful conflict resolution.