Harry B. Harris, Jr.

U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Harry B. Harris, Jr. assumed command March 31, 2006, of Joint Task Force Guantanamo (JTF-GTMO) in Cuba. Admiral Harris replaced Army Maj. Gen. Jay Hood, who commanded the task force since March 2004.

JTF-GTMO "conducts detention and interrogation operations to collect and exploit intelligence in support of the Global War on Terrorism, coordinates and implements Detainee screening operations, and supports law enforcement and war crimes investigations." 

Biography
According to his U.S. Navy biography,


 * Rear Admiral Harry B. Harris, Jr., was born in Yokosuka, Japan, and reared in Tennessee and Florida. He graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1978. After flight training, he was assigned to VP-44, homeported in Brunswick, Maine. His subsequent operational tours included assignment as a Tactical Action Officer onboard USS Saratoga (CV-60), when CV-60 participated in the Achille Lauro incident and strikes against Libya; Operations Officer in VP-4 during Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm; and three tours with Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 1/CTF57/CTF 72, homeported in Kami Seya, Japan. In 2002, he reported to Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, serving as ACOS for Operations, Plans, and Pol-Mil Affairs (N3/N5) where he was responsible for the planning and execution of the Naval component’s portion of Operation Iraqi Freedom.


 * His command assignments included VP-46 at Whidbey Island, Wash., and Patrol and Reconnaissance Wing 1/CTF57/CTF 72 at Kami Seya, Japan. While in command of Wing 1, Task Force 57 was heavily involved in Operation Enduring Freedom, flying nearly 1,000 combat sorties over Afghanistan.


 * Rear Adm. Harris’ shore assignments include Aide and Flag Lieutenant to the Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Japan, in Yokosuka, Japan; duty on the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations as a strategist in the Strategy and Concepts Branch; and Special Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.


 * His education assignments include selection for the Navy’s Harvard/Tufts Program, where he graduated with a master's of Public Administration from Harvard’s John F. Kennedy School of Government in 1992. Subsequently selected as an Arthur S. Moreau Scholar, he studied international relations and ethics of war at Oxford and Georgetown Universities, earning a master of Arts in National Security Studies from the latter in 1994. While at Georgetown, he was also Fellow in the School of Foreign Service.


 * In August 2004, in his first Flag assignment, he reported to the staff of the Chief of Naval Operations as Director, Information, Plans and Security Division, responsible for Navy current operations and anti-terrorism/force protection policy.


 * Rear Adm. Harris has logged 4400 flight hours, including over 400 combat hours, in U.S. and foreign maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft. His personal decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit (3 awards), the Bronze Star (2 awards), the Meritorious Service Medal (4 awards), the Air Medal, the Joint Service Commendation Medal, the Navy Commendation Medal (5 awards), the Navy Achievement Medal, and various campaign and unit decorations.

Profiles

 * "Pacific units greeting new commanders, bidding departing leaders farewell," Stars and Stripes, June 21, 2001.
 * Sgt. Sara Wood, USA, "New Commander Takes Charge of Task Force Guantanamo," American Forces Press Service, March 31, 2006.

By Rear Admiral Harris

 * Essay: "Inside Guantanamo Bay," Chicago Tribune, May 17, 2006.

Interviews

 * Carol Rosenberg, "Q & A with Rear Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr.," MiamiHerald.com, May 28, 2006.

Articles & Commentary

 * Jackie Notham, "U.N. Panel: Close Guantanamo, Foreign Prisons," NPR, May 19, 2006.
 * Al Pessin, "Guantanamo Detainees Stage Riot, Suicide Attempts, But Injuries Minor," Voice of America News, May 19, 2006: "Rear Admiral Harry Harris, says the detainees were ready when the guards came in."
 * Suzanne Goldenberg and Hugh Muir, "Washington shrugs off Guantanamo suicides as merely good PR," Sydney Morning Herald, June 13, 2006.

Related SourceWatch Resources

 * Guantanamo Bay
 * Guantanamo Camp Xray