Harris vows commitment to regional pivot

Adm. Harry B. Harris Jr. took command of the Pacific Fleet Wednesday, adding a fourth star to his shoulders and taking over the job of sustaining America’s naval presence and policies in a vitally important region at a time of constrained budgets and shrinking forces.

He got right to the point during the change-of-command ceremony on Pearl Harbor’s Kilo Pier.

"Ladies and gentlemen, our president and our secretary of defense are clear. As a nation, we will rebalance to the Pacific and we will work closely with our allies and partners in the Indo-Asia-­Pacific region," Harris said.

A former P-3 Orion sub-hunter pilot who at one time was based at Barbers Point Naval Air Station, Harris took over the Pacific Fleet from fellow 1978 Naval Academy graduate Adm. Cecil Haney, who will be head of U.S. Strategic Command in Nebraska and oversee the nation’s nuclear, space and cyber forces.

Adm. Samuel Locklear III, who is in charge of U.S. Pacific Command at Camp Smith, lauded Haney for his efforts.

"Over the past 19 months, Cecil, your strategic vision has really set the stage for a new level of engagement, dialogue and consistency inside the PACOM (area of responsibility)," Locklear said.

Haney did "wonderful things" in increasing coordination and information-sharing with allies, Locklear said.

"Cecil’s ability to balance the strategic, the operational and sometimes the tactical details in direct coordination with those partners and allies has allowed us to do things like bring the littoral combat ship to Singapore," Locklear said.

The United States plans to base four of the lightly armored but speedy vessels in Singapore on a rotational basis in what Locklear called "a symbol of our commitment to the region."

Haney received a Distinguished Service Medal, but turned the praise on the sailors who worked for him.

"This award is more about the hard work and sacrifice of so many outstanding Pacific Fleet sailors, civilians and family members," Haney said. "They are the ones who have earned it."

Locklear spoke of the region’s importance, saying the Pacific Fleet is the world’s largest naval command, covering 52 percent of the globe.

"Over 70 percent of all the energy that flows in the world, flows through the South China Sea every day, under the watchful eye of the Pacific Fleet," he said.

Eighty percent of the world’s natural disasters occur in the region, Locklear said.

Harris had multiple postings to Japan and in his most recent job was military adviser to Secretary of State John Kerry and, earlier, Hillary Clinton.