Master Sergeant Edwin G. Holt Jr. enlisted in the United States Army in January 1967. He served three years on active duty and was stationed in Germany for two of those years with the 3rd Infantry Division.

In 1989, Holt returned to military service through the Minnesota Army National Guard and retired from the service in September 2008. While in the Army Guard, Holt saw overseas duty in Panama, Germany, Norway and an extended deployment with the 34th Infantry Division's Stabilization Force 14 in Bosnia and Herzegovina as a part of a composite force of NATO peacekeepers.

Holt has received the Army Expedition Medal, the NATO Non-Article 5 Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal, the Overseas Service Medal, the Global War On Terror Medal and several Army Commendation, Achievement Medals and the Meritorious Service Medal.