Montgomery Meigs

This article is about the contemporary military leader and analyst. For the Quartermaster General during the U.S. Civil War, see Montgomery C. Meigs.

Montgomery Cunningham Meigs
General Montgomery Cunningham Meigs as 31st Commander of United States Army Europe (c. 2002)
Born	(1945-01-11) January 11, 1945 Annapolis, Maryland, U.S.
Allegiance	United States of America
Service/branch	United States Army
Years of service	1967–2002
Rank	General
Commands held	7th Army 1st Armored Division 3rd Infantry Division 1st Infantry Division
Battles/wars	Vietnam War Persian Gulf War Operation Desert Storm Battle of Al Busayyah Battle of Medina Ridge Bosnian War Operation Joint Endeavor Operation Joint Guard
Awards	Army Distinguished Service Medal Bronze Star Purple Heart
Relations	Montgomery C. Meigs (Civil War general)
Other work	Professor at Syracuse University and Georgetown University, CEO of Business Executives for National Security

Montgomery Cunningham Meigs (born January 11, 1945) is a retired United States Army General. He is named for his great-great-great-granduncle, Quartermaster General Montgomery C. Meigs, the father of Arlington National Cemetery.

Early life and education

He graduated from the Holderness School Holderness, New Hampshire in 1965 and went on to United States Military Academy at West Point, New York where he graduated in 1967. He served as a cavalry troop commander in the Vietnam War with the 9th Infantry Division. After study at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and a year at the Army's Command and General Staff College, he taught in the History Department at West Point and spent the 1981–82 academic year at Massachusetts Institute of Technology as an International Affairs Fellow of the Council on Foreign Relations.

Career

File:Montgomery Meigs Bosnia.jpg

Meigs visiting a coalition basecamp in Bosnia and Herzegovina

He received his PhD in history from Wisconsin in 1982 before reporting to 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment as its executive officer. In 1984, General Meigs commanded the 1st Squadron, 1st Armored Cavalry Regiment. Following a stint at the National War College as an Army Fellow, he worked as a strategic planner on the Joint Staff in Washington, D.C. for three years. Returning to Germany, he assumed command of the 2nd Brigade, 1st Armored Division on September 26, 1990 and commanded it through Desert Storm. He subsequently commanded the 7th Army Training Command in Grafenwoehr and served as Chief of Staff of V Corps and Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations of the U.S. Army, Europe, and 7th Army. General Meigs commanded the 3rd Infantry Division from July 1995 until its reflagging as the 1st Infantry Division in February 1996. In October 1996, he deployed with the 1st Infantry Division to Bosnia, serving nine months in command of NATO's Multi-National Division (North) in Operations Joint Endeavor and Joint Guard.

He commanded the NATO Stabilization Force in Bosnia and Herzegovina from October 23, 1998 to October 1999, concurrent with his command of U.S. Army Europe/7th Army. After Meigs left active military service, he was a professor at the Maxwell School at Syracuse University and served as a military consultant to The Pentagon.

He is currently Visiting Professor of Strategy and Military Operations at Georgetown University's School of Foreign Service. In December 2007, he left his previous position as the director of the U.S. Department of Defense's Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization (JIEDDO).

Starting January 1, 2010, he is the president and CEO of Business Executives for National Security (BENS), a national security public interest group.

Awards and decorations

His awards include the Army Distinguished Service Medal, the Bronze Star with V device, and the Purple Heart.

•   Army Distinguished Service Medal
•   Bronze Star with V Device
•   Purple Heart
• Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany 2002

External links

• Biography from nato.int
• Official U.S. Army bio
• Official Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat Organization web site
• "General Montgomery C. Meigs Joins Faculty"
• Meigs Family papers at Hagley Museum and Library The collection contains the personal papers of many of his predecessors.
• Appearances on C-SPAN

Military offices
Preceded by Leonard D. Holder, Jr.	Commandants of the United States Army Command and General Staff College August 7, 1997 – October 22, 1998	Succeeded by William M. Steele
Preceded by Eric K. Shinseki	Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe November 10, 1998 to December 3, 2002	Succeeded by Burwell B. Bell III