1. Leading by Example

Leading by Example

By Emily Innes Stanley
November 10, 2025

"Leadership is not about waving a sword out front but helping your people do their job and getting them ready to move on."

~ Captain Michael Holifield '89

When Captain Michael Holifield '89 looks back on his more than three decades as a member of the U.S. Navy's Judge Advocate General's Corps, his pride comes from more than his own personal successes. For him, being a career public servant is about lifting and supporting the people around him to the best of his ability.

"When I say I'm proud, I don't mean that I'm at the mountaintop, the pinnacle of my career, looking down at all the great things I've done," Holifield said. "What I mean is I'm down in the valley, and I'm looking up at all the great things being done by the people I've helped mentor and support over the years."

Envisioning himself "in the valley" perhaps best captures Holifield's leadership style, which is rooted in public service and focused on supporting and giving back to the community around him. His career as a judge advocate (JAG) has taken him around the world, from Jacksonville, Florida, to Baghdad. Wherever he deployed, Holifield remained committed to his principles and sought opportunities that challenged him and allowed him to make a difference in the lives of others.

After graduating from W&L in 1989 with a degree in philosophy, Holifield attended Indiana University's Maurer School of Law and commissioned into the U.S. Navy as a JAG during his second year. He attended officer school in Newport, Rhode Island, and received his Master of Laws in international law from the University of Virginia School of Law in 2003, thanks to the Navy. Through three decades of assignments, Holifield held various leadership positions, including: senior defense counsel and executive officer in Jacksonville, Florida; legal advisor for an admiral and a 7,000-person strike group in Norfolk, Virginia; chief legal counsel for the Regime Crimes Liaison Office in Baghdad; senior legal mentor to the Afghan National Army's Judge Advocate General in Kabul, Afghanistan; the head of the Navy's International Agreements and Law of the Sea divisions at the Pentagon in Washington, D.C.; a judge on the Navy Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals in D.C.; and the commanding officer of the Region Legal Service Office in Naples, Italy.

Throughout his career, Holifield was routinely sought after for his legal expertise and leadership, ultimately earning the rank of captain in 2013. He was even asked to extend his 30-year service by three years to take another position on the D.C.-based Court of Criminal Appeals (officers of his rank are required to retire after 30 years, but Holifield's skills inspired this uncommon request), and during this tour, he became the chief judge of the court. He retired from the Navy in July 2025 and has accepted a job with the Coast Guard as the deputy in charge of their military justice system, developing their prosecutors and appellate counsel.

Going beyond the job requirements to improve people's lives has always been a guiding belief for Holifield. Each tour and position allowed Holifield to pursue this goal to tangibly make a difference in the communities he served, and it was the hands-on nature of the JAG Corps - in addition to the opportunity to serve his country - that appealed to him in the first place.

"I was told if I joined a law firm, I'd be toting somebody's bags or doing legal research and never actually get into court, but if I joined the military, I could go right into court with my own cases," said Holifield. "It was exhilarating."

Holifield met each step of his career with this enthusiasm to be at the center of the action, helping move the needle on issues he cared about while also creating an environment in which others could succeed, too.

"Leadership is not about waving a sword out front but helping your people do their job and getting them ready to move on," he said.

Among the countless moments of leadership and courage that define Holifield's career, his volunteering for deployment to Iraq in 2005 and Afghanistan in 2007 to help rebuild the countries' war-torn governments certainly stand out. A testament to his selfless service, he recalled learning that a friend of his had been deployed to Iraq, despite having two children, and thought that since he and his wife (W&L graduate Lee Rorrer Holifield '93) did not have children, he should be the one going. (The Holifields adopted their daughter, Victoria, a few years later.)

"I went to the admiral and said, 'It's not right. He's got kids - I should be going,'" he recalled. "He looked at me like I was crazy, but I made my case, and he released me to go."

In Iraq, Holifield served as the chief legal counsel to the Regime Crimes Liaison's Office at the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad, where he worked with the judges of the Iraqi High Tribunal to determine the law and procedures for the criminal trials of Saddam Hussein and other former regime leaders. In Afghanistan a few years later, he served as the senior legal mentor to the Afghan National Army's JAG and helped rebuild their military justice system.

Holifield found both assignments "incredibly rewarding" and further invested himself in the region's rehabilitation by collecting donations from friends at home to give to orphanages in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"I felt like I was doing something very important to help people, and that was extremely rewarding," Holifield said. "I put out the word to all my friends through my monthly letters that we had orphanages here that could use toys, clothes, soccer balls or anything they want to send. At one point, I had at least 60 soccer balls in my office, and I think in both Iraq and Afghanistan, I helped deliver about 2,000 pounds of toys and clothes."

Looking back, Holifield is grateful to have experienced "moments of pride all through [his] career," most of which involve being able to contribute to others' progress and seeing his community succeed. He prides himself on leading by example and doing the hard work, crafting a leadership style over the decades that allows him to stay mission-oriented while taking care of the people around him.

"If you take care of your people and are clear about what the mission is, that's leadership," Holifield said. "In every job I've had, the first thing I do each morning is grab a cup of coffee and walk around and talk to people. I ask how they're doing, how their families are, and make sure they understand that whatever they need to do their job, I'll fight to give it to them."