Editing Montgomery College (section)

===World War I===
In 1917, the United States entered [[United States in World War I|World War I]]. By special permission granted by the [[U.S. War Department|War Department]], the Bliss Electrical School organized a searchlight company of engineers consisting of 57 men from the 1917 class, headed by Lt. Clyde K. Krisee of the faculty, and under Major [[John C. Gotwals]] of the [[United States Army Corps of Engineers|U.S. Army Corps of Engineers]]. This company went overseas with the First Division of the [[American Expeditionary Forces]]. These men were used for instruction purposes in a searchlight school in Paris. All returned safely to the United States after the war except one, who was killed in an automobile accident in Paris. The captured German searchlight, which adorns the campus, was presented to the Bliss School of Electricity by the War Department as a tribute to the work of the Bliss Searchlight Company of Engineers.

[[File:Colleges and Universities - Bliss Electrical School, Takoma Park, Washington D.C. - Bliss Electrical School, Takoma Park, D.C. drafted men from Washington, D.C. installing wires for electric lights and motors in (...) - NARA - 26425290.jpg|alt=Bliss Electrical School Takoma Park, D.C. Drafted men from Washington, D.C., installing wires for electric lights and motors in the wiring laboratory. An intensive course of training for electricians in the army was given at this school.|left|thumb|Drafted men from Washington, D.C., install wires for electric lights and motors in the Bliss wiring laboratory in 1918. The school provided an intensive course of training for Army electricians.]]

At the request of the War Department in 1918, Bliss School prepared an intensive training course in the fundamentals of electricity for drafted men entering the Army. This course was adopted by the War Department, and was the first course used in all the colleges throughout the country, giving instructions along this line to army personnel in the Student Army Training Corps. The school contracted with the War Department to house, feed, and instruct selected groups of soldiers for this course. Beginning June 15, 1918, the school trained 700 soldiers in three detachments. The contract called for training these men at cost. This cost was determined by the auditors in the War Department at $2.00 for the first detachment, at $1.80 for the second detachment, and $1.62 for the third detachment per man per day for housing, feeding, instruction, and supplies. The school was under military control following instruction hence, following the signing of the armistice on November 11, 1918. The third and last detachment of the Student Army Training Corps was mustered out and disbanded on December 6, 1918, and the school was released from military control. In 1919, Bliss returned to civilian training. The first edition of the Bliss School textbook, ''Theoretical and Practical Electrical Engineering'', was published in September 1921.