Colonel aided July flood victims and helps promote patriotism
U.S. Army Veteran Colonel Christopher Holshek, a lifelong Hudson Valley resident who was born in Cornwall, raised in Washingtonville, and now resides in New Windsor, is the latest inductee into the Veterans Hall of Fame. Senator James Skoufis bestowed the honor upon the colonel because of his dedication to the community and his service as an international peace and security consultant.
“I have been a recipient of many different kinds of awards but this one meant a lot to me because it’s from home,” Holshek said. “It’s recognition from my own home [because of] my contributions not just to my country but to my community. It’s very meaningful to me, very humbling.”
At the age of 17, Holshek left and joined the Army where he ended up in Civil Affairs and retired after 30 years.
“I joined the Army because I grew up as a working class kid,” he said. “My dad was a carpenter and I joined because it was a way to get an education and see the world. Patriotism was not first on my mind.”
His uncle, who was in the Air Force and served two tours in Vietnam, also served as a role model and helped influence Holshek’s decision.
After graduating from Washingtonville High School, he had a chance to attend West Point, but turned down the opportunity because the only thing he could graduate with was a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. Holshek ended up going to school in New Mexico and then George Washington University before going into the Army.
His first job was to help control the border between East and West Germany.
He came to enjoy talking to the population and the political leaders and someone suggested he go into Civil Affairs where he spent the next 25 years.
His assignments included: command of the first Civil Affairs battalion deployed to Iraq; Chief of Civil – Military Coordination for the UN Mission in Liberia; and European Command Military Representative at the U.S. Agency for International Development. He continues to serve as vice president of the Civil Affairs Association. He has been a senior civil-military advisor for the NATO “Resilient Civilians in Hybrid and Population-Centric Warfare” and Grey Zone projects.
For his services then and since, the U.S. Army Special Operations Command inducted him as a Distinguished Member of the Civil Affairs Regiment in 2017. He currently serves as an international peace and security consultant and civil-military director at Narrative Strategies.
Holshek didn’t join the Army with a strong sense of patriotism, but it was something he learned along the way and now he makes it a point to pass on that pride in his country to the younger generations. He didn’t necessarily have an epiphany one day, but it was more the hero’s journey.
When he retired from the Army in May 2010, he decided to mimick John Steinbeck’s “Travels with Charley.” The main character rode a pick-up around the United States with his dog and commented on what he saw. When Holshek retired, he climbed aboard his Harley Davidson and rode around the country for two months. The journey became the basis of his book, “Travels with Harley-Journeys in Search of Personal and National Identity.”
“It’s a memoir and reflections on a lifetime of service in the Army and some of the conclusions I drew, that every generation has to go through this process of answering the basic question, what does it mean to be an American in the world we live in today? For yourself, community, and country, you find out these things by reaching out to others in service. Values and actions are your identity. You have to get in the game. Pass that baton of timeless American values of our Democratic society and pass them on to the next generation. What I’m doing now is facilitating that process, passing on the wisdom that I’ve collected, those values I’ve treasured, and making sure those kids understand those values. What they do with it is up to them. At least they know what they have to do.”
In partnership with the Orange County Youth Bureau, Holshek’s National Service Ride project sees veterans go into schools to talk with kids about the importance of service, not only to the country and community, but to themselves.
“We help put together volunteer fairs and sign kids up for community service,” Holshek said. ”If you want to thank a veteran for what they’ve done, do community service. It’s one thing to defend your country, it’s another to have a country worth defending or people worth protecting. That helps give us a country worth our sacrifice and service.”
Holshek has been working on another initiative called the Youth Guardian Program, in conjunction with the Hudson Valley Honor Flight. A pilot program, which starts in the spring, entails a high school senior, or young veteran under the age of 40, being partnered with an older veteran.
“It gives students a first-hand understanding of what patriotism and service really means,” Holshek said. “Most of the veterans on the Honor Flights are Vietnam veterans who weren’t exactly welcomed home with a ticker-tape parade. They’re finally getting their welcome home and thank you for their service.”
As a member of the American Legion of Orange County and commander of the Post 1573 in Harriman, this past summer saw Holshek giving back to his community following severe flooding in the Highland Falls/Fort Montgomery area in July. He reached out to his fellow commander at Post 633 in Highland Falls and the two set up an operations and coordination center out of the Legion Post where residents could pick up supplies and get information on what was happening. He also worked with the Red Cross to set up another distribution center at Sacred Heart Church.
It was Holshek’s actions following that rain event which prompted Senator Skoufis to nominate him as an inductee into the Veterans Hall of Fame.
“The profound impact of Colonel Holshek’s contributions to our communities is nothing short of extraordinary,” Skoufis said during an induction ceremony held at American Legion Post 1796 in New Windsor.
“With a 30-year tenure as a U.S Army Civil Affairs Officer, an unyielding dedication to mobilizing our youth through initiatives like the National Service Ride Project, and facilitation of effective response to the needs of eastern Orange County Communities during the July 2023 flooding disaster, Colonel Holshek’s commitment to his neighbors, fellow veterans, and his country is truly remarkable. I am deeply honored to share this recognition with him in front of friends and servicemembers, and applaud his induction to the Veterans Hall of Fame.”
