Raised in the ghettoes of Newark, New Jersey, at the age of 5, Gail Harris saw a WWII themed movie called Wing and a Prayer starring Don Ameche. Mesmerized by a scene of the actor briefing Navy pilots before the climatic Battle of Midway scene, she decided that was what she’d do when she grew up. Unaware of the existence of a federal law which prohibited women from going into combat, one that would not be changed until 1994 she forged ahead with her dream. In 1973 she became the first woman in Naval History to serve as an Intelligence Officer in an operational Navy aviation squadron and at her retirement in December 2001 she was the highest ranking African American female in the Navy. Her career included hands-on leadership during every major conflict from the Cold War to El Salvador to Desert Storm to Kosovo and at the forefront of one of the Department of Defense’s newest challenges, Cyber Warfare. She was the first female or first African American for every job assignment and frequently hand selected for challenging jobs based on her outstanding performance.

Her career highlights included being chosen as the Navy test case for women in operational aviation squadrons serving as the Air Intelligence Officer for Patrol Squadron 47 at Moffett Field California from 1973-1976. In August 1988 she was pulled from her Hawaiian assignment 18 months early and sent to South Korea to head up the Defense Department intelligence support for the 1988 Olympics; a task that involved extensive coordination with U.S. and South Korean military, intelligence and civil agencies.

A Gulf War veteran, Captain Harris spent extensive time in the Middle East. Between 1992 and March 1996, she served as the Intelligence Planner for Commander U.S. Forces Central Command. Her tasks were complex and varied and ranged from serving as Central Command’s lead on all Naval Intelligence matters to serving as the Senior Naval Intelligence Officer during highly visible war games such as Internal Look, Blue Flag and Roving Sands to heading up the Navy’s Iraqi Crisis Action Cell and Intelligence Watch Center (military equivalent of a news room) in the Middle East during crisis operations with Iraq. That organization was responsible for providing intelligence support to Navy and Marine units operating in the Persian Gulf. During this assignment, Captain Harris was also hand selected by the Director of Naval Intelligence and Commander of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command to fill an interim position as Acting Naval Attache, Egypt, thereby becoming the first female to serve as a military attaché in a Middle Eastern country.

From April 1996 to August 1999, she was assigned to United States Strategic Command where she was hand picked to fill a new position of Deputy Joint Intelligence Center Commander (military equivalent of news organization publishing books, magazine and newspaper articles and developing televised news spots). Of note, she was again requested by name to assist other military commands for combat operations. In support of United States Central Command’s Desert Fox operation her organization provided support for 415 air launched cruise missile strikes versus 100 Iraqi targets. In support of U.S. European Command’s Allied Force operations her organization provided support for 300+ targets. These efforts were much praised by European Command and called “masterful” by the Joint Staff.

In her last assignment, she was chosen to be the Department of Defense lead for developing intelligence policy for Cyber Warfare (Computer Network Defense and Computer Network Attack).

Her personal military decorations include the Defense Superior Service Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal with one oak leaf cluster, and the Navy Commendation Medal (three awards).

Since her retirement she has worked in the Defense Industry as an Intelligence Subject matter expert. She was a contributing author to Wake Up and Live Your Life with Passion which