Royal Navy Officer Becomes Journalist

Aboard the frigate HMS Argyll, Christopher Harress (JRN'13) reported on humanitarian efforts in Sierra Leone and two major drug busts in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. But he wasn't a journalist—at least not then. As captain's narrative in the British Royal Navy, Harress was responsible for writing about the ship's activity for superior officers back in London. Describing himself as "the least likely person to join the military," Harress, at age 17, accompanied a friend to the Royal Navy's careers office, where he was convinced to take an entrance exam. For a young man trying to figure out what to do with his life after high school, the military had appeal. "My mom is a free spirit kind of person, and I think I rebelled against that," he said. "And I realized I wouldn't have to worry about finding a job if I were in the military." Harress, a Scotsman was accepted to the Royal Navy in 2002.