CAPT Holly R. Harrison Oral History

title:

CAPT Holly R. Harrison Oral History

creator:

Harrison, Holly R. (1972 December 13 - )

subject:

US Coast Guard Academy (USCGA) | Coast Guard

description:

To start the interview, Holly discusses her position as the Executive Officer at the newly-established Coast Guard Maritime Law Enforcement Academy in Charleston, South Carolina. This school consolidated several separate schools that had been scattered across the country, offering three primary courses—in boarding and marine patrol—that people attend most often by request to their command. Holly Harrison was born in Tucson, Arizona in 1972. Her father was a Marine Corps pilot serving in the Vietnam War, and her mother was in the Navy, preparing to deploy to Vietnam, until she found out she was pregnant and was discharged. Her parents divorced when she was in second grade, and both settled in the Washington, DC area. Her family, especially on her mom’s side, had a long history of military service, so participated in the US Naval Sea Cadet Corps in high school. While looking for advanced training, she ended up taking part in Coast Guard programs and applied to the Coast Guard Academy. She was rejected because of her eyesight, but found out the requirement for officers would be adjusted in the future. She enrolled at Pfeiffer College in North Carolina for a year and transferred to the Coast Guard Academy in July 1991. While at the academy, she saw some people get pushed too hard physically, worsening injuries long-term, but she always managed herself well and didn’t come out worse for wear like other classmates did. After graduating and commissioning in 1995, she was assigned to the USCGC Storis in Kodiak, Alaska. She credits that ship with both teaching her ship driving skills and getting her early experience as a boarding officer. Law enforcement boarding involves boarding a ship and inspecting the ship, their paperwork, and their safety equipment to ensure they are following all the related laws. Two years later, her next assignment was as executive officer on the USCGC Kiska, ported out of Hilo, Hawaii. After two more years, she was stationed at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, DC, then she assumed command of the USCGC Aquidneck, ported in Atlantic Beach, North Carolina on 1 June 2001. In January 2003, this ship was deployed to Manama, Bahrain to support Operation Iraqi Freedom. She wasn’t too nervous going over because she and the crew had been together for a year, and they had spent four months training for possible emergency situations, especially in case they faced a chemical attack. Although they trained for months beforehand, no one on her ship knew what their mission was going to be until they were in the theatre. They were brought in because the Navy didn’t have ships small enough to regularly patrol rivers, but the Coast Guard did. Early on in their deployment, their mission was to stop and search fishing and cargo ships to make sure they weren’t attempting to sneak out Iraqi leadership or attack Navy vessels. Later on, their mission was to escort humanitarian ships through minefields and provide protection for Navy minesweepers. Although she was never enthusiastic about journaling her mom convinced her to write down what happened each day while she was on the ship, so she would be able to share her experience with others later on. The primary lesson she got from serving overseas was that you can’t do it by yourself, the crew is there to support each other through everything. As of the interview, Holly was still serving and had reached the rank of captain. For her service, her awards included the Bronze Star, Coast Guard Commendation Medal, Coast Guard Achievement Medal with operational distinguishing service, Commandant's Letter of Commendation with operational distinguishing device, Coast Guard Arctic Service Medal, Expert Pistol Marksmanship Medal, and Expert Rifle Marksmanship Medal. A transcript of this interview is available.

publisher:

Military Women's Memorial Foundation

contributor:

Scott, Kate

date:

2005-11-11

type:

Moving Image

format:

Hi-8

identifier:

401; 2005.401

source:

OHP | IMES

language:

English

relation:

471961

coverage:

1990s | 2000s | Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq)—2003-2011 | 1991-1995 | 1995-interview

rights:

Unrestricted