Command and General Staff School

Copthorne was the only CWS Regular Army officer in SWPA, not only at the time of organization but also for another year. A Military Academy graduate, he was j2 years of age at the time and had seen service in World War I but not overseas. He had a variety of chemical experience, including a tour as Philippine Department chemical officer, a tour as a corps area chemical officer in the United States, and had most recently been an instructor at the Army s Command and General Staff School. ... 

Compared to the amount of organization and effort involved in defensive training, that devoted to offensive chemical warfare was relatively limited. Policy in this field was frequently reviewed by the War Department General Staff. Standard procedure was that chemical weapons developed for the U.S. Army should be produced "with a view to employment by one or more of the combatant branches (that is, by Infantry, Field Artillery, Air Corps, etc.). For such materiel, the CWS was in theory a producer and supplier only. But the Chemical Warfare Service was never content merely to purvey. It took the view that the stocks of smoke, incendiary, and gas munitions were specialties, the merits of which might be overlooked if not adequately utilized. Hence an important function of CWS officers detailed to the faculties of special service schools and the Command and General Staff School was to further the introduction of chemical warfare situations into instructional problems and at the same time assist in the development of doctrine covering the employment of chemical munitions by the several combat arms. The Chief, CWS, selected instructors for assignment to those schools with the utmost care. 

Compared to the training of junior officers, the school instruction of field grade officers was relatively stabilized. The Advanced Course was not initiated until April 1943, but thereafter it was conducted continuously and with little change. Duration was four weeks. Probably the most important accomplishment of this course was the preparation of CWS officers to pursue the Command and General Staff School courses at Fort Leavenworth. By midsummer 1945, the Advanced Course had graduated 544 students in 22 classes. 

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