A blaring ringtone goes off on the desk of Gunnery Sgt. Christopher Harrison, the Assistant Marine Officer Instructor and senior enlisted adviser for the NRTOC unit.

It’s lunchtime and Jimmy John’s is calling for him and his most immediate boss, Capt. Suzanne Mulet, the Marine Officer Instructor. He runs out to meet them, as the Armory can be tricky to navigate.

His office is decorated head to toe with awards and pictures, all commemorating certain aspects of his life. His most recent award hangs above his desk: a plaque that extends about a foot.

For the second year in a row, Harrison won an award that he couldn’t really talk about, mainly because he didn’t understand what he did to get it.

He pulls out four cards, two reading “Assistant Marine Officer Instructor of the Year, Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps, North central Region,” the other two reading “USAA National Award.”

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Harrison enlisted in the Marine Corps in August 2001, a couple of months after his 18th birthday. Completing his recruit training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island in South Carolina, Harrison was promoted to Private First Class in December 2001.

From there, he would receive orders to go to Aviation Structural Mechanic School in Pensacola, Fla., graduating on June 19, 2002.

After being assigned to a Marine aircraft group, Heavy Marine Helicopter Squadron 464, or HMH-464, Harrison would go on to be promoted to lance corporal. His promotion to corporal was during his deployment with HMH-464 for eight months during Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Harrison’s career in the Marines would continue on after his deployment as he attended the resident Corporal’s Leadership Course, where he would graduate fourth in his class along with receiving a Gung Ho award that was designed to acknowledge those who showed motivation above and beyond that of their peers.

His second deployment would be with the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit, where he gained the qualification of collateral duty inspector and was promoted to sergeant.

In 2005, Harrison went on to Drill Instructor School at Parris Island. After being promoted to staff sergeant and serving as a senior drill instructor until 2010, Harrison would be reassigned to HMH-464, where he became appointed the airframes division chief.

In 2011, Harrison deployed with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit. He led his division aboard both the USS New York and USS Iwo Jima, along with various land-based operations.

In January 2013, after completing his fourth deployment, Harrison requested and accepted orders at Iowa State to head his current position.

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Harrison described his role of Assistant Marine Officer Instructor as being the “go-to guy.” Being the only enlisted member in the unit, Harrison can offer up a different mindset or outlook to situations compared to his fellow officers.

Being in charge of ceremonies, the drill team, drug testing, paperwork, government vehicles — the list goes on and on. Harrison acts as the liaison for the university to the Marine Corps.

Part of the reason Harrison is accredited his success, especially by Mulet and his executive officer Cmdr. Daniel Buhr, as well as commanding officer Capt. Ricks Polk, is because he stepped up in his position when the unit especially needed his help.

At the beginning of the year, the previous MOI left the position with no one next in line to fill it. Harrison did the jobs of both the MOI and AMOI until Mulet joined their unit in November.

“There’s nothing that he can’t do,” Polk said. “It doesn’t matter if he’s done it in the past or not, he finds a way to get it done.”

Polk, who joked that he could talk about Harrison forever, acknowledged a few other points as to why he felt Harrison deserved the award.

“He establishes a military bearing with [the midshipmen] that allows them to be sharp and crisp and orderly in all they do, and it’s hard to put a price on that,” Polk said. “We don’t get to pay him more, so the way he’s recognized for his hard work is to find an award that’s appropriate for him.”

Polk said that the fact Harrison was able to win the award two years in a row, against 65 of his counterparts, is pretty impressive.

Buhr spoke a little on why they decided to nominate Harrison two years in a row.

“When it came up again, the AMOI of the Year submissions, we thought, ‘is there anyone who can hold a candle to what he does around here?’” Buhr said. “We felt that he has so much what we call ‘superior sustained service,’ and [he’s] just great at everything he does.”

Buhr mentioned that to receive the award for the second year in a row, the candidate has to be head and shoulders above the next in line, which Buhr feels speaks for who Harrison is, his character and how he helps the unit day in and day out.

Outside of work, Harrison is a father, husband and student, and as described in stories by Polk, a good neighbor.

“Probably to give you the best example of Gunnery Sgt. Harrison is that one day he found a laptop, and it was on a weekend,” Polk said.

He then said Harrison looked up the laptop online, did some research, found out where the guy lived and returned him his laptop.

“That’s the kind of guy that he is,” Polk continued. “The guy who lives across from [Harrison] is disabled, and he arranged for the midshipmen, well invited them, and they rebuilt the guy’s bathroom so he can get in and out with a wheelchair. [They also] reorganized his garage and just helped the guy out.”

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Midshipmen Adam Pollard and Dillon Hansen described Harrison as an approachable man and one who “loves his drill,” referring to the NRTOC’s drill team.

“He’s very understanding of your situation and what needs to get done and what has to get done,” Hansen said. 

“He’ll let you do your thing, but he’s not shy, he’ll tell you if you mess up,” Pollard agreed. “He’ll hold you to a standard and he expects you to keep that standard or push even higher.”

One of the biggest lessons they have learned from Harrison is one that deals with respect.

“If you set the standard high, people may not like you at first, but as long as it’s a doable standard, people will come to respect you,” Pollard said.

Hansen remembers something Harrison said specifically. 

“One quote that I’ll always remember is, ‘you may hate me know but you’ll respect me later,'” Hansen said.

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As Harrison stood by his USAA plaque for a picture, no smile breached his face — except that of a Marine smile: one that is straight-faced, orderly and ready for whatever is thrown at them next.

Harrison said he doesn’t do it to get recognized and that he enjoys taking care of his people.

“I like to get s— done.”