CHAPTER VIII
MISCELLANEOUS SCHOOLS
SCHOOLS OF INSTRUCTION IN GAS DEFENSE
In May, 1917, the responsibility for the development and production of gas defensive appliances and material and the giving of instruction in their use and repair was definitely placed upon the Medical Department.1 In order to train personnel for the technical and administrative phases of the work in gas-defense methods a central gas-defense school was established on August 20, 1918, in connection with the Infantry School of Musketry at Fort Sill, Okla.2 The Adjutant General having selected and ordered to the school as instructors in gas defense three medical officers 2 whose names were among those of nine submitted by the Surgeon General.3 Other officers were subsequently ordered to the school for duty. In addition to officers and enlisted men from other branches of the service, detachments of medical officers, principally from the medical officers’ training camps, were ordered there for courses of instruction, upon the completion of which they were ordered to the various divisional camps to be assigned as instructors in the camps and to divisions as division gas officers.4
This was the beginning, as far as the Medical Department was concerned, of training in gas defense. It led to the incorporation, by the Surgeon General, of the training section in the plans for the Gas Defense Service in his office, the duties of which were to provide instruction regarding the use of gas-defense appliances and the handling of gases used for training purposes, to train officers and men in the use of gas-sampling apparatus, gas detectors and other nieans of defense against gases, and to communicate the same to all concerned.5
By January, 1918, the divisional schools, having the advantage of complete equipment, and of advisers from the British Military Mission,6 were better prepared to carry on the instruction in gas defense than was the central school at Fort Sill; the school at Fort Sill, therefore, was discontinued as a central school on February 24, 19l8. 7
In addition to the gas-defense school at Fort Sill, a school was established at the American University, Washington, D. C., for the purpose of giving chemists of the field training section of the Gas Defense Service a course of instruction in gas-defense methods, these officers to be assigned to divisions as chemical advisers to the medical officers in charge of the gas schools.6 And on February 27, 1918, training in gas-defense methods was turned over to the Chief of Engineers. 8
TRAINING SCHOOLS AT MEDICAL SUPPLY DEPOTS
The authorization of the Sanitary Corps in June, 1917, 9 made it possible to obtain officers for duty as supply officers, purchasing agents, X-ray technicians, automobile and accountancy experts, etc., with the supply service, thereby providing the nucleus for the development of an adequate personnel.10
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The camp medical supply depots developed at the several cantonments during 1917 proved most valuable assets, not only in the prompt and efficient furnishing of medical supplies to medical units at the camp, but, through training schools established in them, in the local training of enlisted and commissioned personnel in the nomenclature and the handling of medical supplies. The need for competent medical supply officers continued to increase and plans for training personnel were further developed. The enlisted personnel at the various camp supply depots who showed aptitude were promoted to the grades of noncommissioned officers. The best of these were selected and sent to the various training schools for medical supply officers. The principal schools were established at Newport News, Camp Meade, and Camp Upton. 11
An outline of instruction was proposed and carried into effect in these schools, covering the period from reveille to retreat. The training was necessarily very practical. Upon reporting for duty and instruction, the men were assigned to the various departments of the depot, that is, the receiving, issuing, and accounting departments, etc., and were carefully instructed in the details of the work pertaining to the department. They were changed from one department to another as experience and efficiency was gained. Lectures were outlined and given covering detachment work, accomplishment of forms, military correspondence, school of the soldier, courtesies of the service, etc.
The following is an example of the syllabus of instruction used in the camp medical supply depots :52
SYLLABUS OF LECTURES TO BE GIVEN BY CAMP MEDICAL SUPPLY OFFICERS
1. The supply tables:
(a) Classification of supplies.
(b)Nomenclature of supplies.
(c) Normal allowance of various Medical Department units (pars. 474-476 and 842-959, Manual for the Medical Department, 1916).
2. Requisitions (pars. 474-495). a
3. Transfer of medical supplies (pars. 496-500). a
4. Accountability (pars. 501-503).
5. Distribution of field supplies in time of peace (pars. 504-506).
6. Distribution in zone of advance (see Field Service Regulations).
7. Replenishment in combat (pars. 55 1-554 and par. 858).
8. Returns of medical property (pars. 507-508).
9. Sales of medical property (pars. 509-510).
10. Distribution of medical property on abandonment of post (par. 511). a
11. Use and care of medical property (pars. 512-526).
12. Base medical supply depots (pars. 782-786).
13. The advance medical supply depot (pars. 787-792).
SCHOOLS FOR TRAINING IN MOTOR MAINTENANCE AND OPERATION
On December 8, 1917, the Surgeon General accepted the offer of the Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pa., to use the instruction facilities of the department of automobile mechanics in that institution in the training of medical officers and enlisted men of the Medical Department in maintenance and operation of motor vehicles.13 It was proposed to detail
a Figures refer to paragraphs in the Manual for the Medical Department, 1916.
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approximately 4 classes, each consisting of 2 officers and 25 enlisted men selected from among those at training camps who had basic knowledge of gas-engine mechanics, in order that they might be given further intensive special instruction in maintenance and operation. The course was for one month. The policy adopted provided that officers and enlisted men who qualified as gas-engine experts would be assigned to motorized units of the sanitary trains serving with mobilized divisions. Instruction was largely practical, and comprised automobile mechanism, automobile repairing, ignition systems and practice in drawing and reading blue prints, “trouble shooting,” finding defects for repair, and work in ignition laboratory. Students were observed during and examined upon completion of the course and graded in technical knowledge, originality and aptitude.14
Four sessions each for different classes were planned and conducted between January and June 27, l9l8. 13 Later arrangements were made for the training of several additional classes.15 Upon completion of their courses of instruction officers and enlisted men were assigned to motorized units of the Medical Department where, as instructors and consultants, they developed into valuable adjuncts in the training of personnel engaged in the operation and maintenance of motor vehicles.
The following is an example of a course of instruction given to a detachment of the Medical Corps in automobile maintenance and operation, at this institution, with subjects of instruction and hours allotted to each.16
Hours
Automobile repair and machine-shop practice........................................39
Fundamental principles of electricity; lecture.....................................12
Practical ignition work............................................................27
Practical motor work and trouble shooting..........................................40
Motor cycle and automobile driving.................................................12
Acetylene welding; simple..........................................................16
Principles of mechanical drawing...................................................12
Motor and chassis lecture...........................................................8
Examination, beginning..............................................................8
Examination, leaving................................................................8
Total.............................................................................186
Equipment used in motor laboratory. - One Packard truck motor, 1 standardized Army truck motor, 3-ton; 1 Dodge motor; 1 Ford motor; 1 Pierce-Arrow truck motor; 1 General Motors Co. truck; 1 large Continental motor; 1 Wisconsin motor as used on Garford 2-ton truck. All these motors were equipped with complete ignition and carburetor systems and with water and exhaust systems for running.
For ignition and carburetor work. - Bosche, Dixie, Eisman high-tension magnetos. Delco, Remy, and Standardized Army truck battery ignition systems. All representative types of carburetors used at the present time in the Army service, including the plain tube Stromberg, Marvel, Stewart, Rayfield, Scliehler, etc.
Three tables were made for the purpose of showing the various ignition systems, and to allow the student to trace out arid build up circuits, from the simplest to the most complicated.
For driving practice and chassis repair work. - OneGeneral Motors Co. ¾-ton truck; 1 Ford truck; 1 White truck chassis; 1 Maxwell chassis; 1 Peerless chassis, and the use of 1 Dodge car for instruction 2 afternoons per week. For motor-cycle work 2 Indian motorcycles with side car were available.
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For general repair and machine-shop practice. - There were available work benches and vises, and for a small amount of machine-shop practice there were available lathes, arbor presses, and various other machine tools.
Description of various parts of instruction; automobile repair. - Itwas the intention to show the best methods of repair on various parts of the motor and chassis, without the use of complete hand and machine tool equipment. At the same time a small amount of time was given to the operation and handling of tools that would be found in a completely equipped shop.
Electricity lectures. - These were intended to present the subject of principles of electricity and magnetism in a brief manner and with special application to ignition systems. They were presented in simple form and illustrated by demonstration and lantern slides.
Practical ignition work. - In this work magnetos were disassembled and the various parts and circuits explained. The student actually performed this work himself, and assembled this magneto, made all adjustments, and placed it on the motor in proper time. The same process was repeated with a battery system of ignition.
Practical motor work and trouble shooting. - Thisconsisted of removing the vital parts of one or two motors, fitting up bearings, timing valves, and getting the motor in good operation again. Emphasis was placed on the proper method of overhauling a motor and replacing all parts in proper manner without injury. Finally the motor was operated with water-cooled jackets and final adjustments made.
Trouble shooting consisted of systematic trouble finding. The motors were purposely placed with some manner of trouble on them and the student required to find and correct it. This was repeated until a list of the most important troubles with carburetor and ignition systems were shown and explained. Most experienced automobile men can locate trouble if given time, but few have adopted a system of elimination whereby trouble can be located quickly.
Motor cycle and auto track driving. - Thistook only a small part of the time of the course amid was intended to give those who were not familiar with driving of either motor cycle or truck a fair amount of practice in both. Practically all men of this detachment were good truck drivers, but some were not so good with the motor cycle. It was the intention to pick these out and make them more efficient in this part of the work.
Simple acetylene welding. - Twelvehours were given to the use of the acetylene flame and making simple welds of iron and other metals.
Drawing. - This was intended as a practical course to give the man a clearer idea regarding the conventions used in making a drawing so that he might be better able to read a blue print of an automobile chassis or motor, and be able to pick out the construction from such print.
Text book used to supplement lectures was Hobbs and Elliott’s “Gasoline Automobile.”
SCHOOLS FOR LABORATORY TECHNICIANS
The occurrence, in the fall of 1917, of large numbers of measles cases, with the resultant pneumonias and the occurrence of a considerable number of cases of meningitis, called for an increased number of trained personnel in the Army laboratories, and it became evident that the measures already taken for the training of laboratory personnel were not sufficient to meet this increased demand. Therefore with the assistance of the medical division of the National Research Council, schools were established and courses of instruction standardized for training women who were not experienced in medical work as laboratory technicians. The following is a list of the most important schools established for this instruction:17 Rockefeller Institute, New York, N. Y.; New York City Board of Health; New York State Laboratory, Albany, N. Y.; New York Post-Graduate Medical School and Hospital, New York City; Hunter College, New York City; Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Boston, Mass.; The Philadelphia Polyclinic and College, Philadelphia, Pa.;
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The Woman’s Medical College of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pa.; Philadelphia Bureau of Health, Philadelphia, Pa.; University of Chicago, Chicago, Ill.; Illinois College, Jacksonville, Ill.; Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio; Medical School, University of California, Berkeley, Calif., in cooperation with the George William looper Foundation for Medical Research.
The courses given in most of these schools were outlined by the Surgeon General, and were designed to train women in this country as laboratory technicians for duty in the base hospitals and other laboratories. Some of the schools included men as well as women. It was desirable that four types of technicians be available for work in the base hospitals; the first three to be women, the fourth to be men of the Sanitary Corps, whose training had otherwise been arranged for. The instruction was based on eight hours’ work per day. The following is the outline of instruction sent to these schools, upon which the courses were bases:
Class I. Clinical urinalysis, hematology, gastric analysis, feces. High-school girls of special ability or college graduates--- 1 month.
II. Preparation of sections and of media. High-school girls---1 month.
III. Bacteriology and Wassermann technique. College graduates who had had bacteriology--- 10 weeks.
IV. Quantitative analyses of urine and blood—metabolic work. Chemists who have had special courses--- 2 weeks.
At the completion of each course a list of the students was forwarded to the Surgeon General with an estimate of the type of work which each had performed. The method of grading was as follows: A = excellent; B = very good; C = probably not available for appointment without further training. Applicants from among those qualified were accepted in the laboratory division as civilian employees and sent to the various laboratories throughout the Army as needed.
On November 30, 1918, 398 female technicians were on duty in the United States Army Laboratory Service, practically all of whom had been trained in these schools.19
REFERENCES
(1) Third indorsement, from The Adjutant General to the Quartermaster General, the Chief of Ordnance and the Surgeon General, May 4, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 156296 (Old Files).
(2) Letter from The Adjutant General to the Surgeon General, July 24, 1917. Subject: Instructors at the School of Musketry. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 193166 (Old Files).
(3) First indorsement, from the Surgeon General to The Adjutant General, August 2, 1917. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 193166 (Old Files).
(4) Correspondence relative to School of Musketry, Fort Sill, Okla., Infantry School of Arms, Personnel and Supplies. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 193166 (Old Files).
(5) Correspondence. Subject: Personnel for gas-defense service. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 201948 (Old Files); also Weekly reports, field supply section, Gas Defense Service, S. G. O. On file, Weekly Report File, S. G. O.
(6) Memorandum for the Chief of Staff from Col. D. W. Ketcham, war plans division, acting assistant chief of service, from acting director, W. P. D. A. A. C. of S., April 6, 1918. Subject: Gas training. On file, Chemical Warfare Service, 353.9 A. G. S. O.
3 C. W. S. 353.5/276
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(7) Letter from the commandant to the director of the training committee, General Staff, Washington, D. C., through the commanding general, Fort Sill, Okla. Subject: Weekly report of the Infantry School of Musketry for the week ending Februarv 16, 1918. On file, Historical Section, Army War College, 7-25.3.
(8) S. O. No. 48, W. D., February 27, 1918.
(9) G. O. No. 80, W. D., June 30, 1917.
(10) Monthly returns from medical supply depots to the Surgeon General. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 319 (name of depot) M.
(11) The Annual Report of the Surgeon General, U. S. Army, 1919, Vol. II, 1187.
(12) Syllabus of instruction to be given by camp medical supply officers. On file, Historical Division, S. G. O.
(13) Letter from Surgeon General of the United States Army, December 8, 1917, to Director, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pa. Subject: Acceptance of offer of director to give training to medical officers and enlisted men in automobile maintenance and operation. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 353 (Carnegie Institute).
(14) Letter from president, Carnegie Institute of Technology, May 14, 1918, to Surgeon General. Subject: Further detachments for training in automobile maintenance and gas-engine operation. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 353 (Carnegie Institute).
(15) Letter from the Surgeon General, May 27, 1918, to the president, Carnegie Institute of Technology, Pittsburgh, Pa. Subject: Acceptance of offer for further detachments of officers and enlisted men for training in automobile maintenance, and expression of appreciation of department. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 353 (Carnegie Institute).
(16) Outline of courses of instruction given detachment of the Medical Corps, United States Army, in automobile maintenance and operation at Carnegie Institute of Technology. On file, Historical Division, S. G. O.
(17) Correspondence on file in Record Room, S. G. O., 231 (Laboratory technicians).
(18) Letter from Maj. F. R. Hill, M. C., to Col. F. F. Russell, M. C., May 7, 1918. Subject: Instruction of technicians. On file, Record Room, S. G. O., 231 (Laboratory technicians).
(19) Annual Report of. the Surgeon General, United States Army, 1919, Vol. II, 1042.
