Lieutenant Colonel James “Jimmy” Michael Harrington, representing the US Air Force, is a National Security Affairs Fellow (NSAF) for the academic year 2022‒23 at the Hoover Institution.
In this interview, Harrington describes his twenty-one-year career as a communications and cyberspace operations officer in the US Air Force, which has included assignments at the unit, four-star major command, Combatant Command, NATO, and Air Force Headquarters levels, deployments to theaters in Iraq and Afghanistan, and various other named operations, disasters, and exercises around the Middle East, Europe, and the Pacific.
Harrington explains that during his fellowship year, his research has been centered on four topics from which he hopes to impart new knowledge back to the Air Force: technological competition with China, venture innovation, leadership, and artificial intelligence. He says that the most rewarding aspect of the fellowship is the chance to mentor Stanford undergraduates. This mentorship reinforces the reason why he joined the Air Force two decades ago: the opportunity to lead and help people meet their fullest potential.
Why did you join the US Air Force?
I come from a large family. I have two brothers and two sisters. From an early age, our parents instilled in each of us the virtues of service and sacrifice. This stemmed from, and was exemplified in, my father’s service in the Army Reserves for thirty-six years. In each of our middle school and high school years, my parents encouraged my siblings and me to start thinking about a career path. My father told both me and my younger brother that we should consider the Air force. He stressed the Air force because he knew the organization took care of its people. After more than two decades of service, I couldn’t agree more.
Part of my interest in the military grew out of a desire to experience adventure and to be part of a cause bigger than myself. What really put me over the edge is this idea of leading people and helping them to meet their fullest potential.
Will you tell us about your educational background?
I graduated from the US Air Force Academy in 2002 with a BS in computer science. After reaching the rank of captain, I went on to earn a master's degree from the University of Illinois Springfield in management information systems in 2008.
Will you tell us about your career arc in the US Air Force?
I’ve served on active duty in the US Air Force for twenty-one years. I was first commissioned as a communications officer in 2002, then transitioned along with all other communications officers to cyberspace operations in 2010. I have experienced eighteen diverse assignments around the world from the unit level all the way up to the four-star major command level in the Air Force, combatant command levels in the joint arena, as well as time with NATO on their strategic staff out of SHAPE headquarters in Belgium. And, most recently, I was in the office of the Air Force chief-of-staff at the Pentagon, on the Department of the Air Force Headquarters Staff. I provided deployable communications services, supporting humanitarian assistance and disaster response activities. I commanded base communications squadrons twice, providing telephone, computer, network, radio, and airfield systems services. I led cyber blue teams around the Air Force and planned offensive and defensive cyber operations. I have formulated and written information operations and cyber policy at the strategic level as well. I have deployed several times, supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan), and various other named operations, disasters, and exercises around the Middle East, Europe, and the Pacific.
Will you tell us how you heard about the Hoover National Security Affairs Fellowship and how you hope to make the most out of this academic year?
I first heard about the Hoover Institution when I started looking into opportunities for senior developmental education, where lieutenant colonels spend a year away from the operational Air Force to focus on professional growth. I researched all the big programs. Most Air Force officers selected generally attend the Air War College out at Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. There, they review and deep dive into doctrine and warfighting concepts that we’ve studied from an Airman’s perspective since we were cadets. The other option was to go to a sister service school, which I did in my intermediate developmental education as a major. I attended the Army’s Command and General Staff College to learn more about Army operations and culture.
Then there are other fellowship opportunities which afford officers the opportunity to engage other subject matter and perspectives outside the military environment. I was most interested in fellowships at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University and the Hoover Institution at Stanford University. I also saw a couple of other fellowship programs at the Sandia National Laboratories and at the Department of Defense.
I pursued the Hoover fellowship because I thought it was the best environment where I could improve my skills and knowledge as a leader in cyber operations. Where we are in Silicon Valley is the premier center of tech innovation in the world. At Hoover, my fellow NSAFs and I can engage with some high-powered leaders who served at the highest levels of government, including Secretary Condoleezza Rice, General James Mattis, and General H. R. McMaster, just to name a few. It was for these reasons that Hoover became my first choice. I applied and let the chips fall where they may. I was beyond thrilled to be accepted to this program.
During my time here, I’ve been learning and writing about China, venture innovation, leadership, and artificial intelligence. I chose the topic of China to better understand the history and the motivations of America’s top strategic competitor. I wanted to study venture innovation to think about ways the Department of Defense can improve its competitive technological advantages relative to China. On the topic of leadership, I wanted to gain unique insights, through engagement with the fellows and through my own research, which I can bring back to my military service. And in studying more about artificial intelligence, I wanted to understand how to lead the DOD to best leverage this emerging critical technology and enhance our capabilities.
Part of the National Security Affairs Fellowship has been teaching and mentoring Stanford University undergraduate students. Could you tell us about your experience with them?
The opportunity to mentor Stanford undergraduates has really been my favorite part of the Hoover experience and something I wasn't expecting when I started. The mentees, for me, provide an infectious sense of energy and idealism. Each of my mentees and the others in the entire program are just brilliant, and they inspire in me a confidence for the future of our nation and the world. I really enjoyed sharing my own experiences in the Air Force with them. I told them how it’s opportunities like this—helping others meet their potential—as the key reason why I joined the military in the first place and why I continue to serve.
What does leadership mean to you?
If described very si mply, leadership is about persuading people to accomplish your objective. However, leadership is anything but that simple. I think effective leadership is a combination of character, some type of domain-specific competency, empathy, and courage. And all these attributes must be balanced on a foundation of core values. While there are "born leaders" who innately grasp these elements, I believe that each element can be taught and all of them must be continuously tempered, cultivated, and adapted over time. I also recognize that the balance of skills and tools necessary for direct-level leadership is really a lot different from leadership at the organizational and strategic levels. I think it is vitally important for leaders to be able to adapt their skills and styles to the needs of their peers, supervisors, and subordinates, the organizations in which they are working, and the environments in which they find themselves in charge.
