Michael Holden (character)

Michael Holden
Army Wives character
Brian McNamara as Maj. Gen. Michael Holden
First appearance	"A Tribe is Born" (episode 1.01)
Last appearance	"All or Nothing" (episode 7.13)
Created by	Katherine Fugate
Portrayed by	Brian McNamara
Information
Full name	Michael James Holden
Gender	Male
Occupation	Corps Commander Former: Position at NATO in Brussels (few months)
Title	Lieutenant General in the U.S. Army (XVII Airborne Corps)
Spouse(s)	Claudia Joy Holden (wife; 2 children; deceased)
Children	Amanda Joy Holden (daughter; with Claudia Joy; deceased) Emmalin Jane Holden (daughter; with Claudia Joy)
Relatives	Sara Elizabeth Burton (goddaughter, via Roland and Joan) Molly Victoria Sherwood (goddaughter, via Frank and Denise)
Residence	Fort Marshall, South Carolina

Lieutenant General Michael James Holden is a fictional character from the Lifetime television series Army Wives, portrayed by Brian McNamara.

Michael has been married to Claudia Joy Holden for 25 years. They met while Claudia Joy was studying at Harvard University and after Michael had graduated from West Point. He and Claudia Joy have known the Sherwoods for a long time; he and Frank first met while based at Fort Carson and were reunited twice, at Fort Bliss and now Fort Marshall. Their children grew up together and have known each since elementary school.

Michael and Claudia Joy have two teenage daughters, Amanda Joy and Emmalin Jane. Amanda was born while he was in Kuwait during the Gulf War. Amanda was killed in a bombing that took place during the first season's finale.

Claudia Joy and Michael are the godparents of Joan and Roland Burton's daughter, Sara Elizabeth, and to Frank and Denise Sherwood's daughter Molly Victoria.

He enjoys fishing and hunting.

At the start of the series Michael held the rank of Colonel. He had been on course for a promotion but was passed over due to false allegations of racism. He is promoted to Brigadier General and becomes the base commander in the Season 1 finale after General Baker retired following a brain aneurysm. After one year of being Brigadier General, Michael is offered a job at NATO in Brussels. He accepts but returns to Fort Marshall after only a few months due to a "reshuffling" and is instead made commander of the 23rd Airborne Division. He receives his second star at the end of Season 3. When the 23rd was disbanded and Fort Marshall slated for closure, he was to be transferred to The Pentagon as a G-3 in the Army Staff but considered retiring as he did not want to end his career "commanding a desk". He also hoped to let Claudia Joy have her own career as an attorney. However, due to the unexpected turnaround of events, Fort Marshall remained open and he is named commander of the fictional XVII Airborne Corps, the formation to which the 32nd and recently disbanded 23rd Airborne Divisions belong to. In season 6 episode 13, he receives word of his third star and in episode 19 he is seen wearing 3 stars for the first time.