Major was assigned in 1919 to a transcontinental Army convoy to test vehicles and dramatize the need for improved roads in the nation

After the war, Eisenhower reverted to his regular rank of captain and a few days later was promoted to major, a rank he held for 16 years. The major was assigned in 1919 to a transcontinental Army convoy to test vehicles and dramatize the need for improved roads in the nation. Indeed, the convoy averaged only 5 miles per hour (8.0 km/h) from Washington, D.C., to San Francisco; later the improvement of highways became a signature issue for Eisenhower as president