Marion native teaching English in Tikrit
When Jeff Hollamon left his job as a history and social studies teacher in Webster County several years ago, he never figured on being back in front of a classroom, especially one where security guards, grenades and no air conditioning is the norm.
The Marion native answered a voice in his head shortly after the terrorist attacks on the United States in 2001. His calling came from the military – a career he'd known quite well since earning an ROTC commission in 1983. But now, his current mission is quite different from his training as a warrior. What he does now includes neither a weapon nor an offensive strategy.
Hollamon, a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. 3rd Infantry Division, is teaching English to Iraqi graduate students at Tikrit University. At least that's part of his weekly duties, and something he volunteered to do.
Growing up on Piney Road in rural Crittenden County, Hollamon was a good athlete who learned loyalty and dedication at an early age. When America was attacked almost nine years ago, he traded in a part-time job as a military reservist to become a full-time solider.
"I just felt like my country needed me at the time," he said.
Now, it's the defeated country that needs him.
Iraq's fledgling democracy has created new opportunities for its young citizens, especially women. Many seek careers in the West, and to get there they have to be smart and persistent. Iraqi students are assessed at various intervals from elementary school to high school and beyond. If they make the grade, they're allowed to continue their education. Once they hit an individual learning plateau, they're cast into a mold.
"The ones who don't pass their tests early on are put into menial jobs," said Hollamon.
Those who excel in the classroom can achieve high levels of education, generally outside of their own country. That's where Hollamon is making a difference. He is teaching English as a second language, mostly to graduate students seeking admission into Western Europe or American universities.
The conditions at Tikrit University are well above average for an Iraqi in stitution of higher education, but they pale in comparison to Western standards, Hollamon said. He travels in a small, guarded military convoy about 10 miles one way each week from his headquarters at Camp Speicher to the campus, which is about the size of his alma mater, Murray State University. There are about 15,000 students attending the university, which is considered among the top two or three in the country.
Security isn't a big problem once inside the relatively safe confines of his classroom, but soldiers are still dying on the streets of Iraq and moving outside U.S. military compounds is dangerous. Armored vehicles often come under fire in the largely Sunni neighborhoods.
"A security detail travels with us the whole time. We go in with vest, weapons and a helmet, but after the security detail clears the classroom, I take off everything and prep for class. Then the students come in."
Tikrit is the hometown of former dictator Saddam Hussein. He escaped to Tikrit after the invasion but was later found hiding there, executed and is buried in the ancient city of 260,000. It's not exactly a warm, cuddly place for American soliders, but Hollamon has found reward in teaching young men and women in the Middle East.
"When you put the weapon down and take off armor, they see a real person," Hollamon said. "Before that, they only see a machine, a warrior."
The lieutenant colonel is so conscious about showing his sincerity and respect for their culture that he removes his sunglasses before going on campus.
"I wear clear glasses so they can see my eyes," he said.
Inside the classroom, Hollamon teaches the students, mostly 25 to 27 years old and two-thirds female, the finer points of the English language. Most speak it well already, but must prepare for their Test of English as a Foreign Language exam, which must be passed before they can enter a Western university.
Students are electronically savvy, but the university is lacking in technology. There are no computer labs, but many of the graduate students have their own laptops. The electricity goes out often – and with the cooling system. Even though it's just May, daytime temperatures reach 100 or greater.
"It's hotter outside than it is inside, so we don't even open the windows when the electricity goes off," Hollamon said.
The young women, dressed in full dresses and scarves, are the most engaged in the classroom. A year ago, the U.S. military was not even allowed on campus. Progress has been made with respect to relations between the soldiers and the Iraqis, and there are much more opportunities for females since the fall of Saddam's regime. Still, woman are largely considered second-class citizens. Getting out of their homeland is among the best ways for them to succeed, although about one-quarter of the Iraqi Council of Representatives – the equivalent of congress – is female.
"I went into teaching this class thinking that females wouldn't talk much, but actually they are the most talkative. They are more motivated and really want something out of the class," Hollamon said. "Most of them have worked very hard to get to where they are and it's something they feel like they have to do in order to succeed, have a good job and a career opportunity. It's definitely a two-class system over here."
Hollamon says the military is doing more than waging war in the Middle East. U.S. tax dollars are being spent to improve Iraq's infrastructure from hospitals and health clinics to schools and the electrical grid. That type of support goes further than bullets, the military leader said.
"Hopefully, we now have a friendly partner in the Middle East. It's cost a lot of blood, sweat and tears and taxpayer money," added Hollamon. "But I believe we now see an infant democracy that has a moderate perspective of the United States as compared to some of the more radical countries in the area."
Teaching English to Iraqis is only a small part of Hollamon's mission. He is also tasked as the Red Team chief officer for Task Force Marne in U.S. Division North. On most days you would find Hollamon working in support of the provisional reconstruction team and refining plans and missions for the division. However, each Wednesday, he takes off the combat attire and slips into a professor's role at the university. In fact, it shouldn't be too long before Hollamon has his own doctorate from the University of Texas El Paso. Since going full time in the U.S. Army, the Crittenden native has been stationed at many locales, including stateside stops at Fort Bliss, N.M., Fort Hood, Texas and Fort Stewart, Ga. He has been on tours to Korea and Afghanistan as well. He met his wife, Yonchu in Korea.
Despite his worldly travels, Hollamon still enjoys returning home to Marion where his parents and step-parents – Shirley and Norman Hinchee and Aubrey and Renea Hollamon – live today; and his brother, Greg, teaches school at Crittenden County High.