commandant and professor of military science and tactics for the Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC) program at Purdue University. In accordance with the National Defense Act of 1920, ROTC offered a two-year course of instruction for freshmen and sophomores, which was compulsory at many universities, including Purdue. The program also offered advanced instruction for juniors and seniors who desired to continue military training and possibly earn a commission in the Army Reserve, National Guard, or Regular Army. In addition to following this academic model, since 1919 Purdue had organized its ROTC cadets as a motorized field artillery unit, a circumstance which played to McNair's strengths. Purdue's president, Edward C. Elliott, was a strong advocate at the national level for ROTC, and a leading voice in opposition to the pacifist movement which gained strength and influence following World War I. McNair became an advocate for military preparedness generally and ROTC specifically, and also argued in opposition to the pacifists. Already a prolific author of professional journal articles on technical military subjects, he penned numerous articles and letters in favor of military training and readiness, and in opposition to the pacifist movement. He also continued to write on Army-specific subjects, including articles that argued for reforming the Army's officer promotion system to replace seniority with merit as the primary consideration. McNair also effected several positive changes to Purdue's ROTC program. As outlined by Elliott, Purdue ROTC had been the subject of several rapid leadership changes which had resulted in disorganization and low morale. McNair's leadership, technical expertise, and administrative abilities resulted in enhanced student participation and improved morale, and developed the program into the Army's largest light artillery unit. When the Chief of Field Artillery attempted to reassign McNair to Fort Bragg, North Carolina, to lead revisions to the Army's field artillery regulations, Elliott protested; his request to keep McNair until the end of the usual four-year assignment for ROTC professors was granted, and McNair remained at Purdue until 1928. Army War College In 1928, McNair was promoted to lieutenant colonel and entered the United States Army War College, the highest-level formal education program for Army officers. In the 1920s the curriculum had been revised so that the program of instruction concentrated on economic, industrial, and logistics issues related to large-scale wartime mobilizations, as well as the doctrine, strategy, and tactics requirements associated with organizing, training, deploying, and employing large scale units