Adm. Harry B. Harris, who was born in Japan and currently serves as the Navy’s Pacific Fleet commander, has been nominated to take command of all U.S. forces in the Pacific, the Pentagon said Monday.
If confirmed by the Senate, Harris would take over from current commander Adm. Samuel Locklear as skepticism over the viability of President Obama’s “Pacific pivot” strategy has reached a peak. New crises in the Middle East and Eastern Europe have many Asian allies questioning Washington’s commitment to the region in the face of Chinese assertiveness.
Harris, born in Japan in 1956 to a Navy chief petty officer and his Japanese wife, became Pacific Fleet commander in October after having served as military liaison to former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and maritime component commander for the U.S. operation in Libya in 2011.
