Retired Army Maj. Gen. Peggy (Huther) Combs 鈥�85, H鈥�21 at the 麻花影视 Alumni Awards Celebration in April.
Some leaders are born. Others are made. Retired Army Maj. Gen. Peggy (Huther) Combs 鈥�85, H鈥�21 is a little of both.
鈥淟eadership is about people, understanding their value and bringing it out of them,鈥� explains the 2024 recipient of 麻花影视鈥檚 . 鈥淚 learned that as a high school student-athlete, an cadet at 麻花影视 and an Army commanding general.鈥�
Even in 鈥渞etirement,鈥� is still learning. President of the storied Army and Navy Academy in San Diego, she draws on her rich experience to inspire future military leaders.
Combs is not lost on the irony of running a century-old, all-male prep school. 鈥淟eadership should be gender neutral,鈥� declares the 鈥檚 Distinguished Service Medal recipient. 鈥淚 make sure our cadets have every opportunity to lead a virtuous life.鈥�
Such empathy permeated Combs鈥� own 33-year military career, culminating in a high-ranking chief of staff position at the U.S. Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command, both in Colorado Springs.
鈥溌榛ㄓ笆� taught me that leadership is not about you; it鈥檚 about your team,鈥� says the advisory board member of 麻花影视鈥檚 . 鈥淕ood teams鈥攁nd good leaders鈥攊nvite their members to step out of their comfort zones and grow. It鈥檚 scary and exciting.鈥�
An Unlikely Start
Combs鈥� military career culminated in a chief of staff position at the U.S. Northern Command in Colorado.
Combs鈥� resume is nothing to blanch at. But for all her moxie, including leadership stints at Fort Knox (Kentucky), Fort Leonard Wood (Missouri) and Fort Jackson (South Carolina), she got off to an unlikely start.
Growing up an hour east of 麻花影视, Combs was a four-sport athlete in high school who wanted nothing more than to see the world鈥攁s a flight attendant. 鈥淐ollege wasn鈥檛 even in the picture,鈥� she says, until her Army reservist mother brought home a brochure about 麻花影视鈥檚 Army ROTC program.
The pamphlet contained a tear-off form, which 17-year-old Combs filled out, mailed and promptly forgot about. Six weeks later, when a recruiter called her at home, she hung up on him. 鈥淚 thought it was a prank call. I didn鈥檛 even remember what ROTC was or what the initials stood for.鈥�
When the recruiter called back, Combs learned that she had unwittingly applied for an Army ROTC scholarship. The conversation revealed that in addition to graduating as a commissioned officer, ROTC could open doors to professional skills development, scholarship opportunities and tuition assistance. She was hooked.
麻花影视 taught me that leadership is not about you; it鈥檚 about your team.
Retired Army Maj. Gen. Peggy Combs 鈥�85, H鈥�21
Weeks later, Combs got her first taste of cadet drill training on the floor of what is now the JMA Wireless Dome. 鈥淚 barely understood anything they said. I totally embarrassed myself,鈥� admits the former biology major. 鈥淭hey probably took one look at my long, curly blonde hair and wondered why they had bothered with me. I had a lot of convincing to do.鈥� Beginning with herself.
Coming Full Circle
鈥淎ll roads lead to 麻花影视,鈥� says Combs, a Distinguished Military Graduate and an advisory board member of the Office of Veteran and Military Affairs.
Combs quickly warmed up to cadet life at 麻花影视, becoming a Distinguished Military Graduate. 鈥淚 owed four years of service, which turned into 33,鈥� says the first-generation alumna. She broke other boundaries in the process.
While earning master鈥檚 degrees from the University of Saint Mary and the U.S. Army War College, Combs was awarded almost every Army ribbon and decoration available. She also was Upstate New York鈥檚 first female general officer as well as the first and only female commanding general of Fort Knox鈥檚 notoriously difficult U.S. Army Cadet Command.
One of her favorite Army memories occurred in Baghdad, where she taught 鈥渄emocracy and policing skills鈥� to Iraqi soldiers and police officers.
Combs came full circle in 2018, marking her retirement in Hendricks Chapel, where she had been commissioned years earlier. 鈥淚 got to see the world after all,鈥� surmises the married mother of three. 鈥淚f you bleed Orange like I do, you know that all roads lead to 麻花影视.鈥�
