Born in Japan, he is also the first 4-star admiral to have participated in the Navy Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps (NJROTC) and the first officer from the U.S. Navy's P-3 Orion maritime patrol aviation community to achieve 4-star rank. While a vice admiral, he served as the Assistant to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Harris was Commander, U.S. Pacific Fleet in Hawaii from 2013 to 2015. He took command of USPACOM on May 27, 2015, and retired from Naval service on June 1, 2018.