Leon Le Leu notes, regarding Richard Strauss,

>Fortunately the officer had heard of him; perhaps a knowledge of
>Strauss was part of his officer training (unlikely)

I am going to go out on a limb here, but I am guessing that the officer
to whom Leon refers was the same officer, an oboist, who prevailed on
Strauss to write his oboe concerto.  So his visit was more in his capacity
as an oboist than in his capacity as an officer in the U.S. Army.

Larry Sherwood