the staff of George Barnett. Ellis played a significant role in planning the exercises that took place in Culebra of Puerto Rico. The Advance Base Outfit appears to be in efficient condition and it is believed that if called upon for use it would be found thoroughly satisfactory. This condition is mainly due to the excellent work of Captain Earl H. Ellis. On February 9, 1914, Ellis and the Advance Base Force embarked to New Orleans for a possible deployment to Mexico because of tensions in the area. Barnett was slated to succeed Biddle as commandant, and selected Ellis for special assignment as a member of a Joint Army-Navy Board committee that studied the defenses of Guam and made recommendations for improvements at the outbreak of World War I. Upon arrival on Guam, Ellis was assigned as the committee's secretary and aide-de-camp, and assumed the duties of chief of police, registrar of the civil government, and Intelligence officer. While on Guam, Ellis conducted a simulated attack with a small group of men across the reef at Orote Point, which demonstrated the ability of men in boats to carry out an amphibious attack and capture artillery. Ellis's health began to deteriorate during this assignment, and his medical records attributed his illnesses to alcohol abuse. On August 27, 1915 Ellis returned to Washington, D.C. for duty as one of the three aides-de-camp to George Barnett, and in 1916, Ellis was promoted to major. This action coincided with the beginning of US intervention on the side of the Allies in World War I, and Barnett persuaded Secretary of the Navy Josephus Daniels to allow participation of the 5th Marines in the American Expeditionary Forces (AEF). World War I Ellis requested front line duty in France, but in May 1917 he was assigned to assist in the establishment of a new installation, Marine Corps Base Quantico. He later served as an instructor for the course which became the Marine Corps' Officer Candidate School. In late 1917, Barnett dispatched Ellis to France to observe the formation and training of the AEF, and report back. Ellis embarked on the Von Steuben on October 25, 1917, and returned to the US in early 1918. The War Department directed the 6th Marines to France to join with the 5th Marines and form the 4th Brigade (Marine), 2nd Division. When Lejeune received orders to go to France and command