ROCK ISLAND ARSENAL, Ill. — Nothing is more critical in the field than ready, reliable, and lethal munitions; this is the calling of Chief Warrant Officer 5 Fatugygenea “Nai-Nai” Harris.
She serves as the Munitions Logistics Readiness Center’s Military Deputy for the Joint Munitions Command, headquartered at the Rock Island Arsenal.
Harris, 48, is in her 30th year wearing a U.S. Army uniform. Over the course of her career, she has accumulated extensive knowledge about ammunition, leadership, and what it takes to earn the trust of her fellow Soldiers.
Harris, a native of Maywood, Illinois, takes her job seriously, and has spent time at bases within the continental United States and worldwide, where she worked with personnel across all military branches, transcending rank and service distinctions. Harris values forming meaningful connections, which is evident in her approach to collaboration.
“To build partnerships and friendships with people from other sister services and different agencies, you just have to listen and talk to them,” she said.
Harris embraces working with joint, interagency, or multinational organizations. In her three years with U.S. Africa Command, headquartered at Stuttgart, Germany, Harris did so on a regular basis.
“At AFRICOM, we worked with the Air Force, Marines, and Navy. It was challenging, because although we all follow the Department of Defense instructions for explosives safety, we all have our own rules and regulations. Sometimes, one branch’s rules and regulations are stricter than another’s,” Harris said. “We had to coordinate a lot with each other to figure things out. I created an explosion safety group so we could all meet to find solutions for safely storing ammunition in the areas of operation.”
Besides time in Germany, Harris has also spent time OCONUS at duty stations in Korea, and she has found the language used across the military can also differ.
“When you’re talking about the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Marines, everyone has their own jargon and acronyms they use. A lot of them are not similar. It can get confusing when you first get to a unit,” Harris said. “We would never use an acronym unless we told somebody what it meant, and I think that’s an effective way to have good communication.”
For Harris, adapting to change and unforeseen challenges is key to personal and professional growth, and her philosophy of resilience and grit shines through.
"Resiliency is part of growth, and it's part of understanding. You have to be able to find the good stuff in all things, because not all things are going to be good. You're going to have times where you're going to be in situations that are not conducive to how you think it should be, so you must have resiliency and grit to even want to keep going,” Harris said. “These two things help you learn, help you grow, and help you find solutions to problems. You have to hunt for the good stuff in order to be able to be successful in what mission and task you have."
Harris emphasizes one should attack a mission or task with an open mind and realize the solution to an issue is what matters as opposed to how the situation might look before it is resolved.
“Sometimes the best way to learn is by coming in with a blank slate. When you start getting advice going into a situation you can tend to develop a bias,” Harris said. “There is such a thing as organized chaos. Even though things may look chaotic, it’s actually organized in a way where the task and the mission is going to get done. It’s all going to come together even though it may not look like it.
“Don’t sweat the small stuff, because in the end it’s going to turn out the way it’s supposed to,” she added. “Evaluate situations and explore the solutions. One problem can have five solutions.”
Harris stresses the importance of active listening, respecting diverse viewpoints, and embracing constructive criticism in her leadership style.
“Understand there’s a time to lead and a time to sit back and listen,” Harris said. “Listen to others express themselves so you can get an understanding of their perception and mindset on things.
“No feedback is negative. We all should have feedback because no one is perfect. No plan is perfect,” she added. “You take that critique and feedback, and you make adjustments. Then, you come back and if it’s still not good enough, you keep trying until it is.”
Harris admits stress can’t be avoided, and each Soldier copes with it differently.
“It takes hard work and dedication to be a Soldier. You have to be willing to follow orders although you are allowed to express yourself, you have to be willing to sacrifice time. You have to sacrifice parts of yourself mentally and physically,” Harris said. “For me, I’m a Soldier, a parent, and a student, which is very challenging. Your mission is important, but your family is also important and how do you juggle it all?
“Sometimes when life gets too stressful it is good to just talk out your problems,” she added. “Self-care is important because we all get stressed in the military. Take time for yourself. If you’re at work, get up and walk around, talk to people and smile and laugh with them because that helps mitigate some of the stress. Also, take a step back and think about the stressful situation, become aware of it and understand it.”
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