Opinion ID: 2320813
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 5

Heading: Historical Army Organization

Text: This Court notes that the phrase staff corps and departments does not appear in any modern United States Army table of organization, or in the United States Code. To ascertain the origin of the term it is necessary to look to historical Army organization. After the War of 1812, Secretary of War John C. Calhoun separated the War Department into two groups  a departmental staff and the Army in the field (otherwise referred to as the line). See James E. Hewes, Jr., From Root to McNamara: Army Organization and Administration, 1900-1963 3 (Center of Military History 1975). The departmental staff consisted of the heads of individual departments (or bureaus) and each department performed a specialized function or service. Id. Some of the staff departments were referred to as corps, including the corps of engineers and signal corps. Some were referred to as departments, including the JAG department, the adjutant general's department, the quartermaster's department, the subsistence department, the pay department, the medical department and the ordnance department. [9] Thus, in the early nineteenth century, the term staff corps and departments referred to groups of officers performing a specialized function or service. The scope of staff corps and departments, however, evolved because of the continuous reorganization of the War Department. For example, in 1917, the quartermaster, subsistence and pay departments were consolidated into a single quartermaster corps. See Hewes, at 17, 21-22. One year later, the portion of the quartermaster corps that formerly was the pay department emerged as the finance department. See id. at 48. At the same time, a new tank corps was formed from members of the ordnance department and corps of engineers. See id. Next, the chemical warfare department and the chaplains department became independent departments. See id. at 51. The organization of the RIANG mirrored the organization of the War Department. In 1929, commissioned officers of the RIANG were divided into two groups, the staff corps and departments and the line. 1929 R.I. Nat'l Guard Adj.Gen.Ann.Rep. 19. The staff corps and departments consisted of the adjutant general's department, the quartermaster corps, the signal corps, the medical corps, the medical administrative corps, inspector general's department, the JAG corps, the ordnance department, the dental corps, the veterinary corps and the chaplains. See id. However, by World War II, the terms staff corps and departments ceased to exist. See Hewes, at 90. Instead, the War Department began using the terms technical services or administrative services. Id. at 97, 99. In 1942, there were seven technical services [10] and four administrative services. [11] However, only some of the technical or administrative service corps were formerly considered staff corps and departments. In 1947, the War Department was officially renamed the Department of the Army. See id. at 167. At that time, the armed forces were reorganized into a centralized body under the Department of Defense similar to its present structure. See id. at 310-11.