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The Spruce Production Division (1917-1919) was a unit of the United States Army established during World War I to protect strategic timber resources in the Pacific Northwest. The region was the primary supplier of Sitka spruce used in aircraft construction and Douglas fir, which was used for ship hulls. The Army established the Spruce Production Division in 1917 under the leadership of Brigadier General Brice P. Disque to counteract labor unrest and to prevent any foreign or domestic disruptions to the timber supply. In addition to the nearly 30,000 soldiers assigned to the division over the course of the war, General Disque recruited laborers to join the federal Loyal Legion of Loggers and Lumbermen (4L). The federal government created the 4L union in an attempt to calm ongoing regional labor unrest in the industry. Soldiers and union members were stationed in more than 230 division camps throughout the region during the war with assignments to oversee logging operations, aid in the construction of new roads and railway lines, fight forest fires, and protect sawmills from sabotage.