page_title: Lesley J. McNair
section_title: Executive officer to the Chief of Field Artillery
hierarchical_section_title: Lesley J. McNair / Post-World War I / Executive officer to the Chief of Field Artillery
caption_attribution_description: Exhibit at the War Museum in Athens. Hotchkiss 25mm AA gun
context_page_description: Lesley James McNair was a senior United States Army officer who served during World War I and World War II. He attained the rank of lieutenant general during his life; he was killed in action during World War II, and received a posthumous promotion to general.
  A Minnesota native and 1904 graduate of the United States Military Academy, McNair was a Field Artillery officer with a background in the Ordnance Department. A veteran of the Veracruz occupation and Pancho Villa Expedition, during World War I he served as assistant chief of staff for training with the 1st Division, and then chief of artillery training on the staff at the American Expeditionary Forces headquarters. His outstanding performance resulted in his promotion to temporary brigadier general; at age 35, he was the Army's youngest general officer.
  McNair's experience of more than 30 years with equipment and weapons design and testing, his administrative skills, and his success in the areas of military education and training led to his World War II assignment as commander of Army Ground Forces. In this position, McNair became the "unsung architect of the U.S.
context_section_description: With his promotion to colonel, McNair was assigned as executive officer for the Army's Chief of Field Artillery.  In addition to carrying out the usual administrative duties of the position, such as managing the chief's appointment calendar and handling his correspondence, McNair was able to continue experimenting with and testing field artillery equipment and weapons, including trips to Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland to test the Hotchkiss Anti-Tank Gun and Hotchkiss Anti-Aircraft Gun. He also studied and authored articles on the use of autogyros for field artillery targeting and indirect fire observation, which anticipated the use of helicopters in modern warfare.  In January 1937, McNair was promoted to brigadier general.
caption: 25 mm Hotchkiss anti-aircraft gun. McNair experimented with Hotchkiss anti-tank and anti-aircraft guns while assigned to the office of the Chief of Field Artillery.
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