Phillip Holt

Phillip D. Holt enlisted to be a Forward Observer in B Company, 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment. His mentors were veterans of Operation Gothic Serpent popularized by Mark Bowden's "Black Hawk Down".

His Active Duty enlistment ended so Holt moved to Seattle to finish college and to ride out his four year service agreement in the National Guard. October 15th, 2003 was the day that Phil Holt learned what 'Stop Loss' meant.

Holt deployed to Baghdad in 2004 as a M249 gunner. He graduated OCS and deployed to Afghanistan as an individual volunteer. He served as the Fire Support Officer, the Executive Officer, and eventually as the Commander an Infantry Company in the Shah-i-Kot Valley; a rare honor for an Artilleryman. He deployed as an Intelligence Officer before moving to Hawaii where he served as a Civil Affairs officer. In 2020 Captain Holt was medically retired from the Armed Forces. He continued to serve as a Dept. of the Army Civilian at HQ US Army Pacific until he ended his 29 year tryst with the military.

Phillip D. Holt holds a BA for 'Exploring Bismarckian Geopolitics through Interpretive Dance' (or some such nonsense) from The Evergreen State College, a MA in Military Affairs & Diplomacy from Hawaii Pacific University, and is pursuing his PhD in Future Warfare.

Phillip is also a writing mentor at Three Rangers Foundation, supporting the 75th Ranger Regiment’s unit-level transition program, "Ranger for Life". He is completing his second novel, "In the Absence of Orders", due for release in Winter 2026.

His hobbies include Guns, Travel & Persian Rugs.