CS files make variable assignments that prove to be useless

Checklist (Please check before submitting)

• I reviewed the Contributing Guide.
• I performed a cursory search to see if the bug report is relevant, not redundant, nor in conflict with other tickets.

Describe the bug
CS files make variable assignments that are overwritten regardless later on in the code, particularly during variable declaration and initialization.

To Reproduce
Bugs are detected by static code analysis

Expected behavior
A clear and concise description of what you expected to happen.

Code snips
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System observed on:

• Hardware: PC
• OS: Linux

Additional context
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Reporter Info
Michael Yang / NASA/GSFC