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20 Chapter 2 On the Road to High Command During the fall of 1922, the Army decided to close Camp Harry J. Jones and move the 1st Cavalry Regiment to Camp Marfa, Texas, which was much closer to Fort Bliss, the home of its parent 1st Cavalry Division. Camp Marfa had larger training areas that would provide ample space for maneuvers scheduled for the fall of 1923, “the largest-scale mounted maneuvers heretofore attempted and the largest concentration of cavalry since the Pershing Expedition.”1 During the field exercise the 1st Cavalry Brigade, consisting of the 1st and 4th Cavalry Regiments and supporting forces, maneuvered with the 2d Cavalry Brigade from Fort Bliss in an area north of Marfa.As Truscott described it, during the exercise’s first phase the two brigades maneuvered against each other “in extremely realistic situations that provided training in all kinds of combat.” In the second phase the two brigades formed as the 1st Cavalry Division and conducted a“field exercise designed to afford training in maneuvering as a unit and to show the power of the division artillery and other weapons in an exercise involving the use of live ammunition.” The division remained encamped in the area for a week following the conclusion of the maneuver to enjoy a time of rest and relaxation. However, duty soon called, and the 1st Cavalry Regiment returned to Camp Marfa to resume its usual garrison duties and unit training, with squadron tactical exercises usually occurring weekly and regimental exercises taking place monthly.2 The passage of the National Defense Act of 1916 had “established a comprehensive , modern school system for the Army,”and Army officers, including Truscott , recognized that attendance at their branch schools “was the next step on the military educational ladder and therefore in a successful military career.” Accordingly, in August 1920, while stationed in Hawaii, he contacted Sarah’s uncle Hollins N. Randolph, a prominent Atlanta attorney, requesting that he use any personal influence he might have to persuade the adjutant general, Maj. On the Road to High Command 21 Gen. P. C. Harris, to appoint him as a student in the Cavalry School at Fort Riley, Kansas. Randolph promptly wrote to General Harris, citing Truscott’s qualities as a man and an officer, and asking Harris, “if it is at all possible, to interest yourself in him, with a view to obtaining this appointment.” On August 13 Harris informed Randolph that he could not comply with the latter’s request since “the list of officers detailed to the Cavalry school for this year has been closed,” pointing out that only officers stationed within the continental United States could attend the school, and recommended that Truscott submit an application to the school after his return from Hawaii. On January 5, 1925, Captain Truscott submitted his formal application to attend the 1925–1926 Troop Officers’ Course at the Cavalry School, which the adjutant general approved on April 22.3 Truscott received orders to attend the Troop Officers’Course that would begin in September 1925. At roughly the same time Maj. Harry D. Chamberlin, the captain of the Fort Bliss polo team,invited Truscott to join his team in the United States Polo Association’s Inter-Circuit Championships in Philadelphia, the inaugural United States Polo Association national tournament. However, in order to play on the team, Truscott would have to be a member of the Fort Bliss garrison, and on June 9 Truscott’s request for transfer to the 8th Cavalry as commander of Troop E at Fort Bliss was granted.4 He spent the summer carrying out the normal duties of a troop commander during the morning training period, while polo practice consumed the afternoons.5 In late summer Truscott requested authority to delay the date he was scheduled to report to the Cavalry School, September 14, pointing out that the polo tournament in Philadelphia did not begin until September 12. In a supporting endorsement Chamberlin stated that “the success of this expedition is largely dependent on Capt. Truscott’s playing with the team.” On September 5, just after arriving in Philadelphia, he received word of the change in his reporting date for the Cavalry School to September 30.6 The Philadelphia Country Club hosted the tournament, and prior to the beginning of the tournament the Fort Bliss team “appeared as a likely candidate for the honors.” The team proceeded to meet all expectations, becoming national champions and taking home the Julius Fleischmann Trophy.7...

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