J.H. Binford Peay III

J.H. Binford Peay III, General (U.S. Army, Ret.), was born in 1940.

"General Peay assumed command of the Virginia Military Institute on 1 July 2003.  He was born in Richmond, Virginia on 10 May 1940. At graduation from the Virginia Military Institute in 1962, he was commissioned a Second Lieutenant of Field Artillery, awarded a Bachelor of Science degree in Civil Engineering, and the Institute’s prestigious Society of Cincinnati Medal.   As a cadet, he was a quarterback on the football team, a member of the Honor Court, and a Battalion Commander.  He holds a Masters of Arts degree from George Washington University and is also a graduate of the United States Army Command and General Staff College and the United States Army War College.

"General Peay's initial troop assignments were in Germany and Colorado. During two tours in the Republic of Vietnam, he performed duty as a Firing Battery Commander in the 4th Infantry Division and later as a Field Artillery Battalion Operations Officer with the 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile).  Assigned to Hawaii in 1975, General Peay commanded the 2nd Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, 25th Infantry Division.  He then served as Senior Aide to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in Washington, D.C. and later as Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3, I Corps, and Commander, 9th Infantry Division Artillery at Fort Lewis, Washington.  In 1985, he was reassigned to the Army Staff as Executive to the Chief of Staff, United States Army.  From 1987-1988, he served with the Screaming Eagles as the Assistant Division Commander (Operations), 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), Fort Campbell, Kentucky, followed by an assignment in July 1988 as Deputy Commandant, Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. He assumed command of the 101st Airborne Division on 3 August 1989 and led the Division throughout Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM in the Persian Gulf. Promoted to Lieutenant General, he was assigned as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, Department of the Army and Senior Army Member, United States Military Committee, United Nations, from June 1991 until March 1993. On 26 March 1993, he was promoted to the rank of General and appointed the 24th Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army. His last assignment was Commander in Chief, United States Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, from 5 August 1994 to 13 August 1997, with responsibility for the region encompassing twenty countries in Africa, the Middle East, Persian Gulf and South Asia.

"Military awards and decorations that General Peay has received include the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, Army Distinguished Service Medal with three oak leaf clusters, the Silver Star and Purple Heart. He wears U.S. campaign ribbons for combat duty in Vietnam, (seven campaigns) and Saudi Arabia (three campaigns) and has received foreign awards from Vietnam, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

"General Peay serves as a Director, BAE Systems, Inc."

Superintendent of the Virginia Military Institute (VMI); Former Chief Executive Officer and President, The Allied Defense Group; Former Commander-in-Chief, U.S. Central Command; and Former Vice Chief of Staff, U.S. Army. 


 * Chairman, Allied Defense Group, Inc.
 * Director, United Defense LP
 * Trustee, George C. Marshall Foundation
 * Trustee, National Defense University
 * Trustee, VMI Foundation

Other Background
"From December 1964 to September 1966, he served as Aide-de-Camp to the Commanding General, 5th Infantry Division. He went on to serve in other assignments including two tours in the Republic of Vietnam. In his first tour from May 1967 to July 1968, he commanded both Headquarters Company, I Field Force Vietnam, and a firing battery (Battery B, 4th Battalion, 42d Artillery) with the 4th Infantry Division in the central highlands. During his second tour from August 1971 to June 1972, he served as the assistant operations officer for the 3d Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, and as operations officer for the same division's 1st Battalion, 21st Artillery. After serving with the Army Military Personnel Center in Washington, DC, as a Field Artillery branch assignments officer, Peay was sent to Hawaii in 1975 to command the 2d Battalion, 11th Field Artillery, 25th Infantry Division.

"Following completion of the Army War College, he returned to Washington, DC, as Senior Aide to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and later as Chief of the Army Initiatives Group in the Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operation and Plans. He then moved to Fort Lewis, Washington, to serve as the I Corps' Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3/Director of Plans and Training, and later became Commander, 9th Infantry Division Artillery. In 1985, he returned to Washington, DC, as Executive to the Chief of Staff, United States Army. He first became a Screaming Eagle in July 1987, when he became the Assistant Division Commander (Operations), 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.

"Beginning in July 1988, he served a one year assignment as Deputy Commandant, Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas. On 3 August 1989, General Peay returned to Fort Campbell to assume command of the 101st Airborne Division and led the division through Operations DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM in the Persian Gulf. Promoted to the rank of Lieutenant General, he was the Army's Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations and Plans, and Senior Army Member, United States Military Committee from June 1991 until March 1993. He was promoted to General on 26 March 1993 and appointed as the Army's twenty-fourth Vice Chief of Staff. He assumed his last active duty position, as Commander in Chief, United States Central Command, at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, on 5 August 1994.

"General Peay has received awards and decorations including the Army Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Silver Star, the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit with oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star Medal with three oak leaf clusters, and the Purple Heart. He has also received the Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, several Air Medals, and the Army Commendation Medal. Additionally, he wears the Parachutist Badge, Ranger Tab, the Air Assault Badge, the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge, Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, and the Army General Staff Identification Badge."