James Henry Binford "Binnie" Peay III (born May 10, 1940) is a retired four-star

general A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". OED ...

of the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the land warfare, land military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight Uniformed services of the United States, U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army o ...

. He served as the 14th

superintendent Superintendent may refer to: *Superintendent (police), Superintendent of Police (SP), or Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), a police rank *Prison warden or Superintendent, a prison administrator *Superintendent (ecclesiastical), a church exec ...

of the

Virginia Military Institute la, Consilio et Animis (on seal) , mottoeng = "In peace a glorious asset, In war a tower of strength""By courage and wisdom" (on seal) , established = , type = Public senior military college , accreditation = SACS , endowment = $696.8 mill ...

from 2003-2020, and as chairman of the Allied Defense Group from 2001-03. He has also served on various corporate and nonprofit boards.

Early life

Peay attained the rank of

Eagle Scout Eagle Scout is the highest achievement or rank attainable in the Scouts BSA program of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). Since its inception in 1911, only four percent of Scouts have earned this rank after a lengthy review process. The Eagle S ...

in the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded ...

in 1954 and as an adult is a recipient of the

Distinguished Eagle Scout Award The Distinguished Eagle Scout Award (DESA) is a distinguished service award of the Boy Scouts of America (BSA). It is awarded to an Eagle Scout for distinguished service in his profession and to his community for a period of at least 25 years aft ...

. His father, Peay Jr. and both of his sons, Jim and Ryan, are also Eagle Scouts. Peay graduated from the

in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree in

Civil Engineering Civil engineering is a professional engineering discipline that deals with the design, construction, and maintenance of the physical and naturally built environment, including public works such as roads, bridges, canals, dams, airports, sewa ...

, where he was a quarterback on the football team and is an initiate of the Beta Commission of the

Kappa Alpha Order Kappa Alpha Order (), commonly known as Kappa Alpha or simply KA, is a social fraternity and a fraternal order founded in 1865 at Washington College (now Washington and Lee University) in Lexington, Virginia. As of December 2015, the Kappa Alph ...

; he was the first Kappa Alpha inducted into the Military Division when it was established in 2009. He also has a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

from

George Washington University The George Washington University (GW or GWU) is a Private university, private University charter#Federal, federally chartered research university in Washington, D.C. Chartered in 1821 by the United States Congress, GWU is the largest Higher educat ...

and graduated from the

United States Army Command and General Staff College The United States Army Command and General Staff College (CGSC or, obsolete, USACGSC) at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, is a graduate school for United States Army and sister service officers, interagency representatives, and international military ...

in June 1971 and the

United States Army War College The United States Army War College (USAWC) is a U.S. Army educational institution in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, on the 500-acre (2 km2) campus of the historic Carlisle Barracks. It provides graduate-level instruction to senior military offic ...

in June 1978.

Military career

Peay was commissioned as a second lieutenant of Field Artillery in 1962. His initial troop assignments were in Germany and

Fort Carson, Colorado Fort Carson is a United States Army post located directly south of Colorado Springs in El Paso, Pueblo, Fremont, and Huerfano counties, Colorado, United States. The developed portion of Fort Carson is located near the City of Colorado Springs ...

. 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 South Vietnam, officially the Republic of Vietnam ( vi, Việt Nam Cộng hòa), was a state in Southeast Asia that existed from 1955 to 1975, the period when the southern portion of Vietnam was a member of the Western Bloc during part of t ...

. In his first tour, from May 1967 to July 1968, he commanded both Headquarters Company,

I Field Force, Vietnam I Field Force, Vietnam was a corps-level command of the United States Army during the Vietnam War. Activated on 15 March 1966, it was the successor to Task Force Alpha, a provisional corps command created 1 August 1965 (renamed Field Force Vietnam ...

, and a firing battery (Battery B, 4th Battalion,

42nd Field Artillery Regiment The 42nd Field Artillery Regiment is a field artillery regiment of the United States Army, first Constituted 5 July 1918 in the National Army (USA). Lineage Constituted 29 June 1918 in the Regular Army as the 1st Battalion, 42d Artillery (Coa ...

) 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 Regiment. After serving with the Army Military Personnel Center in Washington, D.C., as a Field Artillery branch assignments officer, Peay was sent to Hawaii in 1975 to command the 2d Battalion,

11th Field Artillery Regiment The 11th Field Artillery Regiment is a Field Artillery Branch regiment of the United States Army first formed in 1916. A parent regiment in the U.S. Army Regimental System, one battalion of the regiment is currently active, the 2nd Battalion, 11 ...

, 25th Infantry Division. Following completion of the Army War College, he returned to Washington, D.C., 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 Fort Lewis was a United States Army post from 1917 to 2010 located south-southwest of Tacoma, Washington. Fort Lewis was merged with McChord Air Force Base on 1 February 2010 to form Joint Base Lewis–McChord. Fort Lewis, named after Meriwet ...

, to serve as the

I Corps I Corps, 1st Corps, or First Corps may refer to: France * 1st Army Corps (France) * I Cavalry Corps (Grande Armée), a cavalry unit of the Imperial French Army during the Napoleonic Wars * I Corps (Grande Armée), a unit of the Imperial French A ...

' Assistant Chief of Staff, G-3/Director of Plans and Training, and later became the Division Artillery (DIVARTY) Commander, of the 9th Infantry Division. In 1985, he returned to Washington, D.C., as Executive to the

Chief of Staff of the United States Army The chief of staff of the Army (CSA) is a statutory position in the United States Army held by a general officer. As the highest-ranking officer assigned to serve in the Department of the Army, the chief is the principal military advisor and ...

. 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 August 3, 1989, Peay returned to Fort Campbell to assume command of the 101st Airborne Division and led the division through Operations Desert Shield and

Desert Storm The Gulf War was a 1990–1991 armed campaign waged by a 35-country military coalition in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait. Spearheaded by the United States, the coalition's efforts against Iraq were carried out in two key phases: ...

in the Persian Gulf. Promoted to the rank of

lieutenant general Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a three-star military rank (NATO code OF-8) used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the ...

, 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

on March 26, 1993 and appointed as the twenty-fourth

Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army The vice chief of staff of the Army (VCSA) is the principal deputy to the chief of staff of the Army, and is the second-highest-ranking officer on active duty in the Department of the Army. The vice chief of staff generally handles the day-to-d ...

. His last active duty position was as Commanding General,

United States Central Command The United States Central Command (USCENTCOM or CENTCOM) is one of the eleven unified combatant commands of the U.S. Department of Defense. It was established in 1983, taking over the previous responsibilities of the Rapid Deployment Joint Ta ...

, at

MacDill Air Force Base MacDill Air Force Base (MacDill AFB) is an active United States Air Force installation located 4 miles (6.4 km) south-southwest of downtown Tampa, Florida. The "host wing" for MacDill AFB is the 6th Air Refueling Wing (6 ARW), assig ...

, Florida, from August 5, 1994 until August 13, 1997. Peay's awards and decorations include the

Defense Distinguished Service Medal The Defense Distinguished Service Medal is a military decoration of the United States Department of Defense, which is presented to United States Armed Forces service members for exceptionally distinguished performance of duty contributing to the ...

, the Army Distinguished Service Medal with oak leaf cluster, 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 The Purple Heart (PH) is a United States military decoration awarded in the name of the President to those wounded or killed while serving, on or after 5 April 1917, with the U.S. military. With its forerunner, the Badge of Military Merit, ...

. He has also received the

Meritorious Service Medal A Meritorious Service Medal is an award presented to denote acts of meritorious service, and sometimes gallantry, that are worthy of recognition. Notable medals with similar names include: * Meritorious Civilian Service Award *Meritorious Service Me ...

with two oak leaf clusters, several

Air Medal The Air Medal (AM) is a military decoration of the United States Armed Forces. It was created in 1942 and is awarded for single acts of heroism or meritorious achievement while participating in aerial flight. Criteria The Air Medal was establish ...

s, and the

Army Commendation Medal The Commendation Medal is a mid-level United States military decoration presented for sustained acts of heroism or meritorious service. Each branch of the United States Armed Forces issues its own version of the Commendation Medal, with a fifth ...

. Additionally, he wore the

Parachutist Badge A parachutist badge (or parachutist brevet) is a military badge awarded by the armed forces of many states to soldiers who have received parachute training and completed the required number of jumps. It is difficult to assess which country was the ...

, Ranger Tab, the

Air Assault Badge The Air Assault Badge, U.S. Army Institute of Heraldry, dated 18 January 1978, last accessed 16 October 2020 is awarded by the U.S. Army for successful completion of the Air Assault School. The course includes three phases of instruction involving ...

, the Secretary of Defense Identification Badge, Joint Chiefs of Staff Identification Badge, and the Army General Staff Identification Badge.

Career after retirement

After retirement from the Army, Peay became a director at

United Defense Industries United Defense Industries (UDI) was an American defense contractor which became part of BAE Systems Land & Armaments after being acquired by BAE Systems in 2005. The company produced combat vehicles, artillery, naval guns, missile launchers and ...

(UDI) in 1997. In 2005 BAE Systems purchased UDI and appointed Peay to the board of its North American subsidiary, BAE Systems Inc. He joined Allied Research Corporation in March 2000 as member of its board of directors. In January 2001, he was made chairman, president and CEO. In 2003, the company was renamed Allied Defense Group.

Virginia Military Institute

Peay resigned in June 2003 to assume the position of Superintendent of his '' alma mater,''

(VMI). He was inducted into Omicron Delta Kappa as an alumnus at VMI in 2010. Peay resigned as Superintendent of VMI on 26 October 2020 after being told that state leaders had lost confidence in his leadership amid claims of ongoing structural racism at VMI. He left the institute on 28 October 2020. In 2022, Peay was honored by VMI with the New Market Medal, VMI’s highest honor.

References

External links

VMI Profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Peay, J.H. Binford, Iii 1940 births Living people People from Richmond, Virginia Virginia Military Institute alumni United States Army Rangers United States Army personnel of the Vietnam War Recipients of the Air Medal Recipients of the Silver Star United States Army Command and General Staff College alumni George Washington University alumni United States Army War College alumni United States Army personnel of the Gulf War Recipients of the Meritorious Service Medal (United States) Recipients of the Legion of Merit United States Army generals United States Army Vice Chiefs of Staff Recipients of the Defense Superior Service Medal Recipients of the Distinguished Service Medal (US Army) Recipients of the Defense Distinguished Service Medal Virginia Military Institute faculty