Colonel Garland M. White began his military service as an enlisted man in the National Guard in 1913. Commissioned in 1924, he transferred to the Chemical Warfare Service in 1942.

In February 1945 he assumed command of the new Guard and Security Division established to manage disposal of chemical agents. After the war this organization managed the disposition of captured German chemical agents. As there was no existing emergency medical kit for nerve agent exposure, Colonel White and an Army medical officer developed a first aid kit using atropine.

In 1947 the Guard and Security Detachment was redesignated the Technical Escort Detachment. Under his direction the unit established methods for handling chemical munitions and developed several special tools for this purpose. The hundreds of men he trained provided the Army with the critical special skills necessary for safe transport and disposal of chemical agents.