In order to improve these conditions Major General Wm. L. Sibert, a distinguished Engineer Officer who built the Gatun Locks and Dam of the Panama Canal and who had commanded the First Division in France, was appointed Director of the Chemical Warfare Service on May 11, 1918. Under his direction the Chemical Warfare Service was organized with the following Divisions:
| Overseas | Brigadier General Amos A. Fries |
| Research | Colonel G. A. Burrell |
| Development | Colonel F. M. Dorsey |
| Gas Defense Production | Colonel Bradley Dewey |
| Gas Offense Production | Colonel Wm. H. Walker |
| Medical | Colonel W. J. Lyster |
| Proving | Lt. Col. W. S. Bacon |
| Administration | Brigadier General H. C. Newcomer |
| Gas and Flame | Colonel E. J. Atkisson |
The final personnel authorized, though never reached owing to the signing of the Armistice, was 4,066 commissioned officers and 44,615 enlisted men; this was including three gas regiments of eighteen companies each.
General Sibert brought with him not only an extended experience in organizing and conducting big business, but a strong sympathy for the work and an appreciation of the problem that the American Army was facing in France. He very quickly welded the great organization of the Chemical Warfare Service into a whole, and saw to it that each department not only carried on its own duties but co-operated with the others in carrying out the larger program, which, had the war continued, would have beaten the German at his own game.
More detailed accounts will now be given of the various Divisions of the Chemical Warfare Service.
Administration Division
The Administration Division was the result of the development which has been sketched in the preceding pages. It is not necessary to review that, but the organization as of October 19, 1918 will be given:
| Director | Major General Wm. L. Sibert |
| Staff: | |
| Medical Officer | Colonel W. J. Lyster |
| Ordnance Officer | Lt. Col. C. B. Thummel |
| British Military Mission | Major J. H. Brightman |
| Assistant Director | Colonel H. C. Newcomer |
| Office Administration | Major W. W. Parker |
| Relations Section | Colonel M. T. Bogert |
| Personnel Section | Major F. E. Breithut |
| Contracts and Patents Section | Captain W. K. Jackson |
| Finance Section | Major C. C. Coombs |
| Requirements and Progress Section | Capt. S. M. Cadwell |
| Confidential Information Section | Major S. P. Mullikin |
| Transportation Section | Captain H. B. Sharkey |
| Training Section | Lt. Col. G. N. Lewis |
| Procurement Section | Lt. Col. W. J. Noonan |
The administrative offices were located in the Medical Department Building. The function of most of the sections is indicated by their names.
The Industrial Relations Section was created to care for the interests of the industrial plants which were considered as essential war industries. Through its activity many vitally important industries were enabled to retain, on deferred classification or on indefinite furlough, those skilled chemists without which they could not have maintained a maximum output of war munitions.