MSG DET Uganda: The Uzi, the Coup, the Condoms

In 1986, Staff Sergeant George Holguin arrived in Kampala, Uganda as a brand new detachment commander with one mission — establish the first permanent MSG detachment at the American embassy. Uganda had just come through a coup. On day one, the RSO handed him a .357 and an Uzi and told him to carry both around the clock. George talks about building a detachment from scratch in a post-coup country, navigating armed checkpoints, keeping young Marines focused, and an ambassador who had a very specific welcome for every single person who walked through his door — including a handful of condoms.