Duty. Service. Leadership.
Just a few of the traits that retired four-star Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III (Beta ‘62 -Virginia Military Institute) will take with him as he begins his tenure as the 14th superintendent of the famed Virginia Military Institute. A 1962 graduate of VMI, Peay was introduced as VMI’s next leader on November 25, 2002. Selected from a list of 84 candidates, including 18 flag officers (among whom were eight four-star generals) thirteen past or present college presidents or deans, Peay says he is looking forward to returning to an institution that’s played such an important role in his life.
“Any time you can come back to a place that means so much to you, and that’s done so much for you, it’s special,” Peay told Ed Smith of The News Gazette.
Peay, whose father and two sons (see continuing the tradition) also graduated from VMI, is currently the CEO, president and chairman of the board of Allied Research Corp., a defense and commercial electronic security firm based in Vienna, Va.
During a storied military career that spanned three decades, Peay served as U.S. Army vice chief of staff and commander-in-chief for the U.S. Central Command. In the latter of his roles, a position he held from 1994 to 1997, he directed strategic and operational matters in the Persian Gulf, Africa, South Asia and the Middle East.
In the Persian Gulf War operations of Desert Shield and Desert Storm, Peay, as commander of the 101st Airborne Division, directed the deployment of more than 20,000 soldiers into Iraq, leading the divisions deep air assault. This operation, according to biographical information handed out at the press conference, is considered the “largest, most rapid vertical envelopment in military history.”
A Vietnam combat veteran, Peay has been accorded numerous military honors, including the Defense Distinguished Service Medal, the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Silver Star and the Purple Heart. A Richmond, Va., native, Peay played quarterback for the VMI football team, and was a recipient of the Society of the Cincinnati medal, an award given annually in recognition of the cadet who best exemplifies VMI’s ideals of efficiency of service and excellence of character.
Signing a seven year contract, Peay will take over in June and says his objective “is to continue to produce the very best products for VMI and the nation so that we can meet the needs of an increasingly complex world.” Peay’s fellow alumni, friends, and colleagues who were present for the announcement of his appointment were clear about their feelings on whether Peay is the right person to lead VMI. James M. Morgan, Jr., dean of the faculty emeritus, called Peay a “gentleman of the highest and rarest talents who will enthusiastically lead this college to greater heights.”
