§ COLONEL COTTON (Cheshire, Wirral)I beg to ask the Secretary of State for War whether it is the case that any officers of the Army Service Corps, unqualified by either Staff College certificates or by service on the staff in the field, have recently been appointed to important posts on the Staff of the Army, tenable hitherto only by officers qualified as above; and whether it is intended to abolish the Staff College qualifications for other branches of the Army?
§ * THE SECRETARY OF STATE FOR WAR (Mr. E. STANHOPE, Lincolnshire, Horncastle)Officers of the Army Service Corps have not been appointed to any staff positions of which the duties have hitherto been reserved for combatant officers with Staff College certificates or service in the field. The distinction maintained hitherto between supply, transport, and finance duties and general staff duties has been abolished, and a portion of the former are now open to competent officers with the usual staff qualifications; but it is necessary that some or most of these appointments should be filled by men who have previously performed similar duties departmentally. Beyond providing for the changes thus indicated, it is not contemplated to alter the regulations affecting staff appointments.