officers of the line, and eighty-eight other officers of grades not below that of captain. The General Staff with troops shall consist of such number of officers not below the grade of captain as may be necessary to perform the General Staff duties of the headquarters of territorial departments, armies, army corps, divisions, and brigades, and as military attachés abroad. Sec. 5, act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 167), as amended by sec. 5, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 762-763).

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* # a

508. Selection of officers for eligible list.and such details shall be limited to officers whose names are borne on the list of General Staff Corps eligibles. The initial eligible list shall be prepared by a board consisting of the general of the Army, the commandant of the General Staff College, the commandant of the General Service Schools, and two other general officers of the line, selected by the Secretary of War, who are not then members of the General Staff Corps. This board shall select and report the names of all officers of the Regular Army, National Guard, and Officers' Reserve Corps of the following classes who are recommended by them as qualified by education, military experience, and character for General Staff duty;

(a) Those officers graduated from the Army Staff College or the Army War College prior to July 1, 1917, who, upon graduation, were specifically recommended for duty as commander or chief of staff of a division or higher tactical unit, or for detail in the General Staff Corps;

(b) Those officers who, since April 6, 1917, have commanded a division or higher tactical unit, or have demonstrated by actual service in the World War that they are qualified for General Staff duty.

After the completion of the initial General Staff Corps eligible list, the name of no officer shall be added thereto unless upon graduation from the General Staff School he is specifically recommended as qualified for General Staff duty, and hereafter no officer of the General Staff Corps except the Chief of Staff shall be assigned as a member of the War Department General Staff unless he is a graduate of the General Staff College or his name is borne on the initial eligible list. The Secretary of War shall publish annually the list of officers eligible for General Staff duty, and such eligibility shall be noted in the annual Army Register. If at any time the number of officers available and eligible for detail to the General Staff is not sufficient to fill all vacancies therein, majors or captains may be detailed as acting General Staff Officers under such regulations as the President may prescribe: Provided, That in order to insure intelligent cooperation between the General Staff and the several noncombatant branches officers of such branches may be detailed as additional members of the General Staff Corps under such special regulations as to eligibility and redetail as may be prescribed by the President; but not more than two officers from each such branch shall be detailed as members of the War Department General Staff. Sec. 5, act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 167), as amended by sec. 5, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 763).

*

It was provided by sec. 5, act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 168) that no officer, other than the Chief of Staff and the general officers, should be detailed to the General Staff Corps except upon the recommendation of a board of five officers not below the rank of colonel, whose recommendation, to be effective, must be acted upon within one year from the time when made or prior to the convening of another board.

509. Period of detail.-*

* * In time of peace the detail of an officer as a member of the General Staff Corps shall be for a period of four years, unless sooner relieved, Sec. 5, act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 167), as amended

**

**

by sec. 5, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 763).

510. Duties.-That the duties of the General Staff Corps shall be to prepare plans for the national defense and for the mobilization of the military forces in time of war; to investigate and report upon all questions affecting the officiency of the Army and its state of preparation for military operations; to render professional aid and assistance to the Secretary of War and to general officers and other superior commanders, and to act as their agents in informing and coordinating the action of all the different officers who are subject under the terms of this Act to the supervision of the Chief of Staff; and to perform such other military duties not otherwise assigned by law as may be from time to time prescribed by the President. Sec. 2, act of Feb. 14, 1903 (32 Stat. 831). The duties of the War Department General Staff shall be to prepare plans for national defense and the use of the military forces for that purpose, both separately and in conjunction with the naval forces, and for the mobilization of the manhood of the Nation and its material resources in an emergency, to investigate and report upon all questions affecting the efficiency of the Army of the United States, and its state of preparation for military operations; and to render professional aid and assistance to the Secretary of War and the Chief of Staff. * * Sec. 5, act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat.

*

167), as amended by sec. 5, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 763).

511. Duties limited.-* ** Hereafter, members of the General Staff Corps shall be confined strictly to the discharge of duties of the general nature of those specified for them in this section and in the Act of Congress approved February 14, 1903, and they shall not be permitted to assume or engage in work of an administrative nature that pertains to establish bureaus or offices of the War Department, or that, being assumed or engaged in by members of the General Staff Corps, would involve impairment of the responsibility or initiative of such bureaus or offices, or would cause injurious or unnecessary duplication of or delay in the work thereof. Sec. 5, act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 168), as amended by sec. 5, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 764).

All policies

512. Policies affecting the National Guard and reserves.-* and regulations affecting the organization, distribution and training of the National Guard and the Organized Reserves, and all policies and regulations affecting the appointment, assignment, promotion, and discharge of reserve officers, shall be prepared by committees of appropriate branches or divisions of the War Department General Staff, to which shall be added an equal number of reserve officers, including reserve officers who hold or have held commissions in the National Guard, and whose names are borne on lists of officers suitable for such duty, submitted by the governors of the several States and Territories. For the purposes specified herein, they shall be regarded as additional members of the General Staff while so serving: Provided, That prior to January 1, 1921, National Guard officers who do not hold reserve commissions, if recommended by the governors of the several States and Territories, may be designated by the President as members of the committees herein provided for, and while so serving such officers shall receive the pay and allowances of their corresponding grades in the Regular Army. * * Sec. 5, act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 167), as amended by sec. 5, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 763-764).

*

513. Recommendations for legislation.* * Whenever any plan or recommendation involving legislation by Congress affecting national defense or the reorganization of the Army is presented by the Secretary of War to Congress, or to one of the committees of Congress, the same shall be accompanied, when not incompatible with the public interest, by a study prepared in the

appropriate division of the War Department General Staff, including the comments and recommendations of said division for or against such plan, and such pertinent comments for or against the plan as may be made by the Secretary of War, the Chief of Staff, or individual officers of the division of the War Department General Staff in which the plan was prepared. * Sec. 5,

*

act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 167), as amended by sec. 5, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 764).

514. Duties with troops.shall be to render professional aid and assistance to the general officers over them; to act as their agents in harmonizing the plans, duties, and operations of the various organizations and services under their jurisdiction, in preparing detailed instructions for the execution of the plans of the commanding generals, and in supervising the execution of such instructions. Sec. 5, act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 167), as amended by sec. 5, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 764).

The duties of the General Staff with troops

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* *

515. Duties of the Chief of Staff.-* The Chief of Staff shall preside over the War Department General Staff and, under the direction of the President, or of the Secretary of War under the direction of the President, shall cause to be made, by the War Department General Staff, the necessary plans for recruiting, organizing, supplying, equipping, mobilizing, training, and demobilizing the Army of the United States and for the use of the military forces for national defense. He shall transmit to the Secretary of War the plans and recommendations prepared for that purpose by the War Department General Staff and advise him in regard thereto; upon the approval of such plans or recommendations by the Secretary of War, he shall act as the agent of the Secretary of War in carrying the same into effect. * Sec. 5, act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 167), as amended by sec. 5, act of June 4, 1920 (41 Stat. 764).

* *

The principal duties of the Chief of Staff, as prescribed by sec. 4, act of Feb. 14, 1903 (32 Stat. 831), where they were first laid down, were the supervision, under the direction of the President or of the Secretary of War, under the direction of the President, of all troops of the line and of the staff corps and departments; he was also a member of the Board of Ordnance and Fortification and was to perform such other military duties as might be assigned to him by the President.

When by the act of Apr. 23, 1904 (33 Stat. 262), the Adjutant General's Department (except The Adjutant General) and the Record and Pension Office were merged, the officers of the consolidated department were made subject to the Chief of Staff in all matters pertaining to command, discipline or administration.

The office of Adjutant General, which had existed during the Government under the Articles of Confederation, was created by sec. 7 of the act of Mar. 5, 1792 (1 Stat. 241), which made provision for an adjutant who was to do the duty of an inspector; sec. 3 of the act of May 30, 1796 (id. 483), contained a similar provision for an inspector who was to do the duty of adjutant general, but who was to continue în service until Mar. 4, 1797, and no longer. Temporary provision seems to have been made for the performance of the duties of the department from Mar. 4, 1797, until May, 1798, when, in anticipation of war with France, an increase of the military establishment was authorized and provision made in sec. 6 of the act of May 28, 1798 (id. 559), for the appointment of an adjutant general with the rank and pay of a brigadier general. Sec. 14 of the act of Mar. 3, 1799 (id. 749), contained the requirement that the adjutant general of the Army should be, ex officio, assistant inspector general, and that deputy inspectors general should be, ex officio, deputy adjutants general, and should perform the duties of adjutant general in the armies to which they might be assigned. These officers were disbanded on June 15, 1800, in pursuance of a requirement to that effect contained in the act of May 14, 1800 (2 id. 85). Sec. 3 of the act of Mar. 16, 1802 (id. 132), provided for an adjutant and inspector of the Army, who was to be taken from the field officers. Sec. 4 of the act of Jan. 11, 1812 (id. 671), created the office of Adjutant General, with the rank and pay of a brigadier general, which continued to exist until the close of the war when it was discontinued in the reduction accomplished by the act of Mar. 3, 1815 (3 id. 224). The duties of the department were again performed by officers temporarily detailed for the purpose for a little more than a year, when, by the act of Apr. 24, 1816 (3 id. 297), the temporary establishment was made permanent and the strength of the department was fixed at 1 adjutant and inspector general (brigadier general), 1 assistant adjutant general (colonel) for each division, and 1 assistant adjutant general (major), for each brigade. At the general reduction of 1821 the department was reduced to a single officer-an adjutant general of the Army-with the rank of a colonel of Cavalry. By sec. 7 of the act of July 5, 1838 (5 id. 256), 2 assistant adjutants general (brevet majors) and 4 brevet captains were added to the department. By sec. 6 of the act of June 18, 1846 (9 id. 17), 4 assistant adjutants general were added for the period of the existing

war: by sec. 2 of the act of Mar. 3, 1847 (id. 184), 1 lieutenant colonel and 2 brevet captains were authorized under the same restriction as to tenure of office. By sec. 3 of the act of July 19, 1848 (id. 247), the limitation contained in the two acts last cited was removed, and the establishment, as it existed at the close of the war with Mexico, was made permanent; the vacancies were not to be filled, however, until the further order of Congress; but, by sec. 4 of the act of Mar. 2, 1849 (id. 351), this restriction was repealed and the President was authorized to make appointments and promotions in the department as then constituted by law.

At the outbreak of the War of the Rebellion the department was reorganized, its composition being fixed by the act of Aug. 3, 1861 (12 Stat. 287), at 1 brigadier general, 1 colonel, 2 lieutenant colonels, 4 majors, and 12 captains. By sec. 22 of the act of July 17, 1862 (id. 597), 1 colonel, 2 lieutenant colonels, and 9 majors were added to the establishment, with the requirement that vacancies in the grade of major should thereafter be filled by selections from captains in the Army. By sec. 10 of the act of July 28, 1866 (14 id. 333), the composition of the department was fixed as follows: One brigadier general, 2 colonels, 4 lieutenant colonels, and 13 majors. The grade of captain not being provided for in this enactment was thenceforward discontinued. This statute contained the requirement that vacancies in the office of adjutant general should thereafter be filled by selection from the officers of the department. By sec. 2 of the act of Mar. 3, 1869 (15 id. 318), promotions and appointments in the department were forbidden until the further order of Congress, but by Joint Resolution No. 12, of Apr. 10, 1869 (16 id. 53), this statute was suspended in its operation as to vacancies which had existed on Mar. 3, 1869. By the act of Mar. 3, 1873 (17 id. 578), the appointment of 1 major to the department was authorized, and, by the act of Mar. 3, 1875 (18 id. 478), the restriction upon appointments and promotions imposed by the act of Mar. 3, 1869, was removed and the composition of the department fixed at 1 brigadier general, 2 colonels, 4 lieutenant colonels, and 10 majors. By the act of Feb. 28, 1887 (24 id. 434), the grades of rank of the officers constituting the department were rearranged so far as to consist of 1 brigadier general, 4 colonels, 6 lieutenant colonels, and 6 majors, the vacancies created by the act to be filled by promotion according to seniority. the act of Aug. 6, 1894 (28 id. 234), the number of majors in the department was reduced to 4. By the act of May 18, 1898 (30 id. 419), the appointment of 1 colonel and 1 major was authorized, with the proviso that upon the muster out of the volunteer forces no promotions or appointments should be made until the number of officers of the above grades had been reduced to that authorized by the law in force prior to the passage of the act. By sec. 3 of the act of June 6, 1900 (31 id. 655), the rank of major general was conferred upon the adjutant general "during the service of the present incumbent." All these provisions were superseded by act Feb. 2, 1901, sec. 13 (31 Stat. 751), which provided that the Adjutant General's Department should consist of 1 adjutant general with the rank of major general, but that when a vacancy should occur in the office on the expiration of the service of the then incumbent by retirement or otherwise the adjutant general should thereafter have the rank and pay of a brigadier general, 5 assistant adjutants general with the rank of colonel, 7 assistant adjutants general with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and 15 assistant adjutants general with the rank of major. Said act Feb. 2, 1901, sec. 13 (31 Stat. 751), was superseded by sec. 6, act of June 3, 1916 (39 Stat. 169), which provided that the Adjutant General's Department should consist of The Adjutant General with the rank of brigadier general, 7 adjutants general with the rank of colonel, 13 adjutants general with the rank of lieutenant colonel, and 30 adjutants general with the rank of major. This act in turn was superseded by sec. 6, act of June 4, 1920, post, 517.

By

Subsequent to said act Feb. 2, 1901, the Adjutant General's Department, and the officers thereof, except The Adjutant General, were consolidated with the Record and Pension Office, and the officers thereof, to constitute the Military Secretary's Department of the Army and the Military Secretary's office of the War Department, by provisions of act Apr. 23, 1904 (33 Stat. 362). By a proviso of said act, when the office of Adjutant General should become vacant, the vacancy so created on the active list of the Army should not be filled; and by further provisions of that act and of act Mar. 2, 1905 (33 Stat. 830), the titles of the offices of Assistant Adjutant General and of Assistant Chief of the Record and Pension Office were changed to Military Secretary. But by provisions of act Mar. 2, 1907 (34 Stat. 115-118), the Military Secretary's Department was to be known as the Adjutant General's Department, the senior in rank of the officers of that department was to be designated The Adjutant General, the other officers of the department were to be designated adjutants general, and the Military Secretary's office of the War Department was to be known as the Adjutant General's office.