My feeling is that it traces from the institution of staff officers in the military: > General staff: in the military, a group of officers that assists the com

My feeling is that it traces from the institution of staff officers in the military: > General staff: in the military, a group of officers that assists the commander of a division or larger unit by formulating and disseminating his policies, transmitting his orders, and overseeing their execution. Normally a general staff is organized along functional lines, with separate sections for administration, intelligence, operations, training, logistics, and other categories.[1] [1] https://www.britannica.com/topic/general-staff https://www.britannica.com/topic/general-staff