General Montgomery C. Meigs, U.S. Army (retired)

Montgomery Cunningham Meigs – American Soldier, teacher, mentor, business leader and innovator – passed away in his home in Austin, Texas, on July 6, 2021, his 53rd wedding anniversary.  He was born in Annapolis, MD, on January 11, 1945, a son of Elizabeth Griggs Meigs and LTC Montgomery C. Meigs, who had died in battle the month before. He graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1967, and began his career as an Army officer, during which he commanded a cavalry troop in the Vietnam War, led the Iron Brigade in Desert Storm, and spent two years in Bosnia-Herzegovina leading troops as part of the NATO peacekeeping mission.  General Meigs’ 35 years of military service included 18 years, spanning 4 decades, in the Federal Republic of Germany.  He began as a second lieutenant platoon leader in the 3-12 Cavalry Squadron and retired as the Commanding General of U.S. Army Europe (USAREUR). 

Back in the U.S. he was afforded numerous opportunities to pursue academic interests.  While at the National War College he wrote his book, Slide Rules and Submarines: American Scientists and Subsurface Warfare in World War II, which would become the intellectual foundation of the future counter IED fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.  From the University of Wisconsin-Madison he received an MA and PhD in history. He taught at West Point and spent a year at MIT as a Council on Foreign Relations Fellow.  At Fort Leavenworth he commanded the U.S. Army Combined Arms Center and was Commandant of the Command and General Staff College.

General Meigs retired on January 1, 2003, and promptly began his second career as a professor of national security studies at various institutions including the LBJ School at U.T.- Austin and the Maxwell School at Syracuse University.  Alongside his teaching, he relished his “gigs” with NBC and MSNBC as a military analyst. It was an extension of his teaching, as he reached out to the general public to explain what was happening in Iraq and Afghanistan.  In addition, he was a devoted member of the Board of Trustees of the MITRE Corporation for over ten years.

Four years after his military retirement General Meigs was called back to the Pentagon, to lead a critical Department of Defense effort to counter the threat of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) against U.S. and coalition forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Following that assignment, he taught at Georgetown University and then served as CEO of Business Executives for National Security, a unique nonprofit comprised of senior business leaders who recommend and apply best practices to address the nation’s pressing security challenges.

During these many adventures he was supported by his loving family: his spouse, Mary Ann Mellenbruch Meigs, sons William (Kerri Lohmeier) and Matthew Meigs (Sarah Meigs). His grandchildren Elena, James and Thomas Meigs brought him great joy as he followed them over the years in their athletic and academic pursuits.