Peay was commissioned as a
second lieutenant of
Field Artillery in 1962. His initial troop assignments were in Germany and
Fort Carson, Colorado. 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,
42nd Field Artillery Regiment) 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,
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, to serve as the
I Corps' 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. 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. , 1996. On 3 August 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 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 March 26, 1993, and appointed as the twenty-fourth
Vice Chief of Staff of the United States Army. His last active duty position was as Commanding General,
United States Central Command, at
MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, from 5 August 1994 until 13 August 1997. Peay's awards and decorations include the
Defense Distinguished Service Medal, 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. He has also received the
Meritorious Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, several
Air Medals, and the
Army Commendation Medal. Additionally, he wore 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. ==Career after retirement==