Which official revived Emory Upton’s ideas by creating a general staff and replacing the commanding general with a chief of staff?

• A. Elihu Root
• B. Emory Upton
• C. J. Franklin Bell
• D. Jacob Smith

Answer: (A)

The idea being tested is moving from relying on one top commander to a centralized staff system that plans, coordinates, and directs operations. Emory Upton argued that a general staff should handle campaign planning and that a single commanding general should be complemented (or even superseded) by a chief of staff who runs that staff, bringing discipline, professionalism, and coordinated action to the Army.

Elihu Root is the official who put those ideas into practice at the turn of the century. As Secretary of War, he overhauled the War Department, creating a General Staff to handle planning and administration and establishing the office of Chief of Staff to the Army. This shift professionalized and centralized military planning so that strategic and operational decisions were made by a dedicated staff rather than by one individual with all the responsibility. Root’s reforms solidified the general staff concept in the U.S. Army and laid the groundwork for the modern command structure used in later generations, including during World War I.