The Chief of the Air Service has supervision over aircraft production and the aviation service.
The Chief of Ordnance supervises the purchase, manufacture, and distribution of artillery, small arms, and ammunition for the army and the militia. For the manufacture of arms and ammunition there are arsenals at Springfield, Mass., Rock Island, Ill., Watervliet, N. Y., and elsewhere.
The Chief of Engineers is at the head of the engineering corps, a branch of the army which is charged with the construction of public works such as military roads, bridges, fortifications, river and harbor improvements, geographical explorations, and surveys. The construction of the Panama Canal is the most notable of the recent undertakings of the war department in this field.
The Chief of the Chemical Warfare Service has supervision over the production of chemical warfare materials as well as defensive appliances for protection against such warfare. He also supervises the training of the army in the use of both.
The Militia Bureau, created in 1916, has charge of all matters relating to the National Guard.
In addition to the purely military functions and construction of public works, the war department has certain duties in connection with the government of the insular possessions and the Panama Canal Zone. So far as these duties relate to Porto Rico and the Philippine Islands they are under the direction of the Bureau of Insular Affairs, at the head of which is an army officer with the title of chief of the bureau. This bureau also has charge of the collection of the revenues of Haiti and the Dominican Republic in accordance with treaties which practically establish an American receivership over those republics.
Finally, the war department has charge of the United States Military Academy at West Point, the various post-graduate schools of instruction for army officers located at different army posts, the national military parks at Chickamauga, Gettysburg, Shiloh, and Vicksburg, and the national cemeteries in various parts of the country. The military academy at West Point was founded in 1802. A certain number of cadets (the number—for a long time one only—has varied at different periods) are appointed from each congressional district and territory, upon the nomination of the representative in Congress from the district; also certain numbers from each state at large, from the District of Columbia, and from the United States at large. All candidates are required to pass a physical and intellectual examination; the course of instruction lasts four years; and each cadet receives pay sufficient for his maintenance. Graduates receive appointments as second lieutenants in the army, those standing highest usually being appointed to the engineering corps if they prefer assignment to that branch of the service. The secretary of war exercises general supervision over the academy, and it is inspected at regular intervals by a board of visitors of whom seven are appointed by the President, two by the Vice President, and three by the speaker of the house of representatives.
West Point Cadets
