as his Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3 (Operations). While he was en route to California, Eichelberger learned from Graves that the 8th Division's destination had changed, and it was now bound for Siberia instead. President Woodrow Wilson had agreed to support the Allied intervention in the Russian Civil War, and Graves would command the American Expeditionary Force Siberia (AEFS). The AEFS departed San Francisco on 15 August, with Eichelberger as its Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 (Intelligence). Graves was instructed that his mission was political rather than military, and accordingly he was to "maintain strict neutrality". Eichelberger found himself thrust into a complex political, diplomatic, and military environment. Soon after arriving, he was appointed to the ten-nation Inter-Allied Military Council, which was responsible for Allied strategy. Eichelberger became convinced that America's objectives in Siberia were not necessarily the same as those of her French and British allies, but it was far from clear what they actually were, especially when the State Department and the War Department did not always agree. American policy called for protecting the Trans-Siberian Railway, but this was under the control of Admiral Alexander Kolchak's White Army forces, whom Eichelberger considered to be "murderers" and "cutthroats". Eichelberger was awarded the Distinguished Service Cross for repeated acts of bravery while assigned to the Expeditionary Force. His citation read: For his services in Siberia, Eichelberger was awarded the Army Distinguished Service Medal, and was promoted to lieutenant colonel on 28 March 1919. Graves prevented him from receiving the British Distinguished Service Order and the French Legion of Honor, as had other members of the Inter-Allied Military Council. Eichelberger did, however, receive the Japanese Imperial Order of Meiji, Order of the Sacred Treasure, and Order of the Rising Sun. Siberia gave Eichelberger a chance to observe the Japanese Army at first hand, and he was impressed by what he saw of their training and discipline. He concluded that, if properly led, they would be more than a match for American troops. The AEFS was withdrawn in April 1920. Between the wars Instead of returning to the United States following his service in Siberia, Eichelberger became Assistant Chief of Staff, G-2 (Intelligence), of the Philippine Department on 4 May 1920. Like many officers in the aftermath of World War I, he was reduced in rank to his permanent rank of captain on 30 June 1920, but was immediately promoted to major