Upon the completion of the Advanced Course on July 15th, 1927, I, together with all the graduates of the Advanced Course, was ordered to take the Course at the Command and General Staff College, at Fort Leavenworth, where I reported on August 24th.
We had a very nice apartment in a converted barracks, where Shirley proceeded to have a severe case of whooping cough.
I found the Course a useful one particularly in that it afforded me an opportunity to gain some familiarity with the use and organization of the various Special Troops of the Division, as well as with the tactical employment of the Infantry Division. I believe the Course was advantageous to most of the officers who took it, but I also believe that it was detrimental to a few of them who seemed to become indoctrinated with the idea that almost any problem with which they might, in future, be confronted might be solved by reference to some problem which had, at some time, been issued at Leavenworth, and, more particularly, in the case of some Coast Artillery officers, that the same detailed procedures there taught for the Division should necessarily be employed in the Coast Artillery Harbor Defense.
I was promoted to Lieutenant Colonel on March 16th, 1928, and shortly before graduation on June 15th, 1928, I received orders detailing me on the General Staff and directing me to proceed to Fort Sam Houston, Texas, for duty on the Corp Area General Staff. I was very glad to receive this assignment as the Corp Area Commander at that time was Major General Wm. Lassiter, under whom I had served in Panama, and for whom I had great admiration and respect. His Chief of Staff was Colonel Robert McCleave, a very fine officer, who had been a classmate of mine at the Army War College.
Upon graduating from the C&GS School I had completed my military schooling. However, the sequence: General Staff, General Staff Eligible List, Army War College, C&GS School was just the reverse of the normal one.
Having received a month's leave we decided to drive leisurely from Ft. Leavenworth to Ft. Sam Houston, through country that was new to us. Our route was Lincoln, Nebraska -- Denver -- Colorado Springs -- Santa Fe, New Mexico -- Cloudcroft, Texas (Cavalry Division Rest Camp) -- Carlsbad, New Mexico (Carlsbad Caverns) -- Alpine, Texas -- Del Rio -- Ft. Sam Houston. The trip was very interesting except that some days we had as many as four tire punctures. The old Spanish Trail, along the Border, over much of which we passed, was just a very muddy road. The roads were so bad in Texas that it took us five hours to make the last fifty miles into Ft. Sam Houston.