professional military education was very fulfilling. He spent time in the school library and the Library of Congress. He wrote his staff memorandum (equivalent to a thesis) on the subject of Army transportation. Recalling his personal experience with horses and mules in France, he recommended that motorized transport significantly replace the Army's use of livestock. The commandant of the school commended Middleton for work of exceptional merit, and sent his ideas to the highest levels in the War Department. Late career Having spent the previous ten years in the various Army schools, Major Middleton requested a return to Camp Benning, where he and his wife still had friends. The request was approved and he was assigned as a battalion commander in the 29th Infantry Regiment there, the same unit in which he had enlisted nineteen years earlier at Fort Porter. He was at Benning for only a year when he was told he would be assigned to the General Staff at the War Department in Washington D.C., but this changed when a new requirement for career officers was brought to his attention. Officers were now expected to have an assignment with a civilian component of the Army such as the National Guard, the Reserves, or the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC). The last option appealed to Middleton the most, and he wanted to work at a school in the south. There was an opening at Louisiana State University (LSU), and this is where Middleton soon headed. ROTC duty at Louisiana State University In July 1930 Troy Middleton stopped at his new headquarters at Fort McPherson in Atlanta, then drove west with his family to Baton Rouge, Louisiana which would become the family home for many years. Major Middleton became the Commandant of cadets at LSU, along with being the professor of military science. While at headquarters, Middleton had learned that his predecessor did not get along with Louisiana's governor, Huey P. Long. Middleton was told a few stories about the governor that made him curious enough to call on him the day after arriving in town. While the meeting turned out to be somewhat awkward for Major Middleton, it began a friendship between the two men. Governor Long loved LSU, and loved the cadet corps there. When Middleton mentioned to him that the cadet band of just a few dozen members was rather rag-tag, the governor saw to it that