Whakaotihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whakauruhia a Durfee ki te 17th Infantry Regiment a i tohaina ki Fort D.A. Russell i Wyoming. I mahi ia i te mahi rohe tae noa ki te 1893, a, i uru ia ki te Pakanga Kanikani Wairua. I mahi a Durfee i te wā o te Siege o Santiago hei rangatira tuatahi, ā, i whiwhi ia i tētahi whetū hiriwa mō tana tūranga i te
Te Pakanga o El Caney. I waenga i te 1899 me te 1905, i haere a Durfee ki nga Philippines e toru nga wa ka mahi ia i etahi kaupapa iti me te Tuatoru o te Sulu Expedition. I mahi a Durfee i etahi waahi i te US, tae atu ki Fort McPherson, Fort Brady, Fort Wayne, tae atu ki te rohe me Mexico. Whai muri i tana tohu i te United States Army War College, i noho a Durfee ki te whare wananga hei kaiwhakaako, a i te tau 1918 ka uru ia ki te General Staff ka noho hei Tumuaki mo te Tari ki te Tonga.