After his graduation, he was drafted into the United States Army and served in the Vietnam War. He was assigned to the 25th Infantry Division in Cu Chi, where he was a reporter for the Armed Forces Network; he covered the division's participation in the invasion of Cambodia. Kroft won several Army journalism awards for his work and a Bronze Star for "Meritorious Achievement". When the division was redeployed, he was reassigned to the military newspaper "Stars and Stripes" as a correspondent and photographer.