[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 124 (Wednesday, September 17, 1997)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E1778-E1779]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]


                TRIBUTE TO GENERAL J.H. BINFORD PEAY III

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. IKE SKELTON

                              of missouri

                    in the house of representatives

                     Wednesday, September 17, 1997

  Mr. SKELTON. Mr. Speaker, today I wish to congratulate and pay 
tribute to Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III who will retire from the U.S. 
Army on October 1, 1997. General Peay's career spans more than 35 
years, during which he has offered selfless and distinguished service 
as a soldier, teacher, leader, military

[[Page E1779]]

statesman, and visionary adviser to America's most senior national 
leaders.
  Gen. Binnie Peay grew up in Virginia. He graduated with honors from 
the Virginia Military Institute, and was commissioned a second 
lieutenant in the field artillery. He served two tours in Vietnam, with 
the 4th Division and the 1st Cavalry Division, and was decorated for 
valor. Following the war, General Peay served a succession of high 
profile and influential staff and command positions, including 
Executive to the Chief of Staff of the Army, commandant of the command 
and general staff college at Fort Leavenworth, and assistant division 
commander of the 101st Airborne Division. During these years, General 
Peay was one of a number of officers and enlisted personnel who helped 
restore integrity, morale, and spirit to the Army in the wake of the 
Vietnam war.
  In 1989, General Peay took command of the 101st Airborne Division 
(Air Assault) at Fort Campbell, KY. The division deployed to the 
Arabian Gulf in August 1990 as part of Operation Desert Shield. During 
Operation Desert Storm, the 101st made the longest, most rapid 
heliborne assault in the history of warfare, deploying more than 150 
miles behind enemy lines to block Iraqi reinforcements and lines of 
communications.
  During the period 1991 to 1994, General Peay served as Deputy Chief 
of Staff for Operations, and then as Vice Chief of Staff of the Army. 
In 1994, the President named him to his current assignment, Commander 
in Chief of U.S. Central Command. During this 3-year tour, General Peay 
set the stage for preserving regional peace and stability over the long 
term, while enhancing our Nation's ability to respond to any 
contingency.
  Mr. Speaker, Gen. J.H. Binford Peay III is a preeminent military 
thinker, a master of tactics and strategy, and an expert on the 
intricacies of senior level military management and command. I know the 
Members of the House will join me in offering our heartfelt gratitude 
to General Peay and his family--his wife, Pamela, and sons, Jim and 
Ryan--for their service to our Nation, and wish them all the best in 
the years ahead.

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