Photo By Lance Cpl. Desiree McGregor | U. S. Marine Corps Col. Jeffrey C. Holt, commanding officer, School of Infantry-West...... read more read more
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MARINE CORPS BASE CAMP PENDLETON, Oceanside, Calif. – “When I was young, my grandfather told me to do things with the rule of 15 in mind. He baited me in with that statement knowing I would ask him what it was. He explained, it takes 15 seconds to make a decision, 15 seconds to execute it, and you will have to live with it for at least 15 years.”
This is just one of the philosophies U.S. Marine Corps Col. Jeffrey Holt, commanding officer, School of Infantry-West (SOI-W), bases his actions upon. Holt is the embodiment of a great leader and friend, and a force of nature, according to those who work closely with him. With a strong ambition to succeed, Holt has developed the characteristics needed to create his own leadership style throughout his 26-year career.
Holt, an infantry officer by trade, holds himself and his Marines to very high standards. To ensure this, his command philosophy is centered around three things: Work hard, have fun, and be safe. For him, it isn’t just a statement that is glanced at every so often, it’s the way he lives his life. Holt incorporates his command philosophy in all aspects of his leadership. He notes it should be done with balance in mind. In any extreme of the three, there could be consequences personally or professionally.
“It’s funny,” said Lt. Col. Greg Thiele, the executive officer of SOI-W. “He believes it. For him it isn’t just some philosophy. He lives it. He works extremely hard. He likes to have fun. He encourages the Marines to have fun as well because he wants them to enjoy coming to work every day, and of course safety is very important to him. He lives what he preaches, which is nice. Not everybody does that.”
Holt, a Dallas native, has always enjoyed the outdoors. As Camp Pendleton Sportsman’s Club President, he encourages Marines to enjoy hunting, fishing, archery and other outdoor activities on the base, while also incorporating them into the day-to-day lives of those under his command.
“I enjoy spending true time with them on hikes and emphasizing the Commandant’s message to be your best self and be nice,” Holt said. “I believe that it’s just a great trait for anyone to have. I dropped a lot of bad habits to be my best self. I dipped for 20 years, and I used to go out and drink, but I’m glad I left that behind, and because I’ve given up some of those bad habits, I’m able to do some pretty challenging events, both physically and mentally, like the Mohave Death Race, and the Recon Challenge.”
Prior to assuming command of SOI-W, he was passed for promotion to colonel, but Holt refused to give up on himself. With the motivation to be promoted, he looked back at his career to see what he could do to better himself physically, mentally and spiritually.
“It gets very competitive as you get older,” said Holt. “I never knew how it felt. I thought I would always be the winner and get everything that would come my way if I just took care of people, so it came as a shock. I worked for an entire year to better myself and before I knew it, I was selected for colonel. I feel really blessed and humble to be here. I needed that humility check. I really did.”
Since he has been in command, SOI-W has made many historical changes to its organization. One of the changes Holt has overseen was the integration of female Marines to train at the Marine Combat Training Battalion. With this, all students can continue to train and sustain the most combat effective force and potential of every Marine.
Another of Holt’s roles as a leader involves assisting Marines as they cope with adversity or loss of life to loved ones during training. Along with the plaques on his office walls commemorating the various units he has served with, he has pictures of two Marines who lost their lives while serving next to him.
With the bonds he forms with those around him, Holt ensures their memory is honored. For the past two years he has ran the Recon Challenge. Once in honor of 1st Lt. Scott Flemming, who lost his life in Afghanistan in 2010, and once for Lance Cpl. Carlos Segovia-Lopez, who was murdered in September of 2016 while on leave in Los Angeles. He brought Segovia-Lopez’s family out to MCB Camp Pendleton to be present when he finished the challenge and hung the young Marine’s dog tags on a battlefield cross.
While all good things must come to an end, Holt will be moving on to his next challenge as the new Deputy Commander of Marine Corps Installations-West (MCI-W). Holt will be relinquishing his command to Col. Kyle Stoddard on 25 June, 2018 and taking the reign from outgoing deputy commander, Col. Gary Johnston.
“He’s a very unique individual,” Thiele commented about Holt. “It’s been a great privilege to work for him over the past two years and end my own career on a high note. He’s one of the best human beings I’ve ever met. As a Marine officer, sometimes being a good human being means not accomplishing the mission, but he’s able to do what’s right, still be a great person and have high standards for himself and those around him.”
As the door to one command is closed, the winds of change open another. Holt’s command philosophy of work hard, have fun, and be safe will be branching out from SOI-W to become an installation-wide philosophy for all Marines of MCI-W to live and work by over the course of the next two years.
| Date Taken: | 06.22.2018 |
| Date Posted: | 06.22.2018 16:06 |
| Story ID: | 281945 |
| Location: | OCEANSIDE, CALIFORNIA, US |
| Hometown: | DALLAS, TEXAS, US |
| Web Views: | 3,013 |
| Downloads: | 1 |
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