Diana M. Holland

Diana Maureen Holland (née Leach; b. 1968) is a retired major general in the United States Army, who last served as commanding general of the Mississippi Valley Division of the United States Army Corps of Engineers. She is a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. From January 2016 to June 2017, served as Commandant of Cadets at the United States Military Academy, the first woman to hold the position. and is a native of Santa Barbara, California. The daughter of a United States Marine, she was inspired from an early age by her father's and grandfather's military service to join the military herself. She participated in the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps while attending Santa Barbara High School, from which she graduated in 1986.

Holland attended the United States Military Academy from 1986 to 1990.

Following company command, Holland earned a Master of Arts degree at Duke University en route to a teaching assignment at the United States Military Academy, She then attended the Army Command and General Staff College and the School of Advanced Military Studies (SAMS) where she earned a Master of Military Arts and Sciences degree. Upon assignment, she became the first woman to serve as a general officer at Fort Drum, and the first woman to serve as a deputy commanding general in one of the army's light infantry divisions.

On 15 December 2015, Holland was announced as the 76th Commandant of the Corps of Cadets at the United States Military Academy, the first woman to serve in that position.

In July 2017, Holland assumed command of the South Atlantic Division, United States Army Corps of Engineers, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. In this position, she oversaw army engineering activities in the Southeastern United States, Central and South America, and the Caribbean. In the first six months in this assignment, she oversaw the Corps of Engineers' support to Florida, the United States Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico following Hurricanes Irma and Maria. The following year, she oversaw disaster response in the North Carolina and South Carolina following Hurricane Florence, and in Florida and Georgia following Hurricane Michael.

On July 11, 2019, Holland was promoted to major general. Her husband pinned on the new rank. The following year, Holland relinquished command of the South Atlantic Division and assumed command of the Mississippi Valley Division in Vicksburg, Mississippi. In October 2020, Major General Holland was appointed the 41st President of the Mississippi River Commission, the first woman to hold that position.

Awards Holland's awards and decorations include the Army Distinguished Service Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Legion of Merit with one oak leaf cluster, the Bronze Star Medal with two oak leaf clusters, the Defense Meritorious Service Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal with four oak leaf clusters, the Combat Action Badge, the Senior Parachutist Badge, the German Parachutist Badge, and the Silver Order of the de Fleury Medal.

In June, 2018, Holland was recognized by Atlanta Magazine as a "Woman Making a Mark." And has at least 15 awards and decorations.

Personal life Holland is married to James Holland, Jr.