Commander Harmon Rabb, Jr.

David James Elliott

As the series lead, Harm is the character we know the most about. The two most important character elements are his MIA father and his status as a former Navy pilot. We know that Harm's father was a decorated Navy pilot whose plane went down over Vietnam during the Vietnam war in 1969. Harm's family received the news of his MIA status on Christmas Eve.

Capt. Thomas Boone (the CAG), who has appeared in a few eps was Harm's father's best friend and his wingman on the day he went down. As far as we know, Harm is an only child and he idolized his father. His mother, Trish, is re-married to Frank, a VP at Chrysler.

When Harm was 16, he went to Laos in search of his father. He was accompanied by Col. Francis Stryker - we never see Col. Stryker, but he is mentioned in three episodes (Deja Vu, Survivors, High Ground) While in Laos, he falls in love with a young Vietnamese girl who is killed.

Harm is an Academy graduate, and served as a Naval aviator until his night blindness contributed to an accident that occurred while he was trying to land his Tomcat on a carrier. His RIO was killed. Although he was cleared of any responsibility in the accident, he was forced to give up being a Navy pilot. After his crash, he spent a great deal of time with his grandmother, Sarah, in Belleville, PA.(Full Engagement)

As the series premiered, Harm was a Lieutenant. He was promoted to Lt. Commander in the first season ep Defensive Action. In We the People, the first ep of the second season, he was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (for saving the CAG's life in the Pilot episode).

Harm's first romance on the show was the oft mentioned, but never seen relationship with Maria Elena Carmelita Romero Guttierez in the first season. In the second season ep Jinx, he expresses some interest in Annie Pendry, the widow of his friend Luke, who died in the first season ep Pilot Error. He and Annie did eventually become involved (Someone to Watch Over Annie) and he became quite attached to her son Josh. But they had immediate problems in their relationship - Annie, the widow of a Navy flier, hated the military and was completely against her son having any involvement in it. She was also hesitant to get involved with another risk-taker, like her late-husband. The relationship ended after Harm neglected to tell Annie that the ship he and Josh were going sailing on was a Navy ship and it got taken over by terrorists (Tiger,Tiger).

During the first half of the third season, he fell for Ensign Lane, whom he was defending in the ep Defenseless. But, this didn't go anywhere. Harm and Mac shared a kiss in Death Watch, but it seemed to be the results of all the emotions brought up by finding out who murdered his old love Diane (who happened to be a dead ringer for Mac).

Much attention has been paid to Harm's ongoing search for his father during the third season. In the season premiere, Ghost Ship, he got his hands on a mysterious book that lists his father among a group of POWs transferred to Russia. Unfortunately, the book is stolen from him. In the ep The People vs Rabb, Harm gets his first piece of evidence that his father might still be alive - a picture supposedly taken in the early 1980's. Harm believes that his father is still alive and in the third season ender he and Mac go to Russia in search of Harm Sr. (To Russia With Love).

In the fourth season opener, Gypsy Eyes, Harm finds out that his father did survive after the war and was in Russia, but he died trying to protect a Russian woman from soldiers.

During the first part of the fourth season, Harm had his share of romance. He shared a kiss with Congresswoman Bobbi Latham (Mr. Rabb Goes to Washington) and became involved with Lt. Commander Jordan Parker (Jaggle Bells), a naval psychiatrist.

Harm and Jordan became serious very quickly. Jordan was kidnaped by Clark Palmer (Wilderness of Mirrors) and held hostage in Harm's apartment. Harm was able to save her by figuring out Palmer's tricks. Their relationship hit a rocky patch when Harm decided that he wanted to return to flying (Goodbyes). The future of their relationship was left uncertain by the end of the season.

Harm embarked on two new quests during the end of the fourth season. The first began after he was called in when the body of an abused and neglected child was found in the bathroom of a military base (Nobody's Child). In the course of the investigation, Harm discovered that the little girl, Annie, had a twin, Dar-lin. With the help of Commander Teresa Coulter (guest star Trisha Yearwood), he found Dar-lin, but learned that Annie's killer, a man named Charlie, was missing. Charlie, the boyfriend of the girls' aunt, had taken off after Annie was killed. Harm became determined to protect Dar-lin and find Charlie. Charlie surfaced in the episode "Goodbyes" looking for Dar-lin. Charlie had already killed the girls' aunt and a Navy officer. Using the officer's uniform and identification, he was able to find and take Dar-lin. Harm confronted Charlie in an abandoned ship and Charlie is killed in a struggle over a gun. Dar-lin is safe and can now be adopted.

Harm's second quest was returning to flying. In the episode "Shakedown" Harm began to feel the strong urge to fly again. Harm visited a doctor and found out that he was misdiagnosed. He did not have night-blindness, he had retinal scarring and it was correctable by laser surgery (Second Sight). Harm made the decision that he wanted to return to flying (Yeah, Baby) and turns in he transfer order to the Admiral. He made his final decision to leave JAG and return to flying in the episode "Goodbyes".

Harm suffered a great trauma towards the end of the season when his beloved red Corvette was stolen and stripped for parts, forcing him to get a practical car. :) (Soul Searching)

Harm appeared on active flight duty on the USS Patrick Henry when the fifth season began (King of the Greenie Board). While on the carrier, one of the members of Harm's squad, while flying over Kosovo, fires on what he believes to be Serbs going to attack refugees. It turns out that he killed Russian peacekeepers instead. During the court martial, Harm is forced to ignore his training as a lawyer and allow the legal counsel on the ship handle the case because he is now a pilot, not a lawyer (Rules of Engagement).

In an attempt to keep Harm from testifying against him, Harm's squad member suddenly requests that Harm become his lawyer. While Harm is able to keep him from getting court martialed, Harm is successful in grounding him, much to the pilots anger (Rules of Engagement). His time on the carrier was also marked by heroics. When his wingman's plane is shot, Harm pushed the planes, using its own tailhook, into safe territory (True Calling). After this exploit, Harm's superior explains to him that Harm has come as far as he can as a pilot. Due to his age, he will only fly for a few more years and then be assigned a desk job. He will never be able to get enough flight to command an air group. He advises Harm to return to JAG.

Harm takes his advice and does return to JAG (The Return). His return does not go as smoothly as he hoped. He feels out of the loop since he has been gone for so long. He doesn't even have his office any more!

After settling in at JAG, Harm faces yet another crisis when he is accused of writing an editorial that speaks ill of the President, a violation of regulations in the military (Contemptuous Words). Harm and Bud try to find the real author, examining old case files and even paying a visit to Clark Palmer. The real culprit turns out to be the Conservative group that if funding Harm's defense. They thought that he would be the perfect person to criticize the President and still have the public on his side. Harm also had to defend his friend Skates when a plane crashed onto the deck of the carrier while she was guiding it in (Mishap).

Harm received a promotion to Commander in the fifth season (Contemptuous Words).

Harm had two significant personal experiences in the fifth season. First, his relationship with Jordan Parker came to a definite end (The Return) when she left to take an assignment overseas. The other was Harm found out more about his father in the episode "Ghosts of Christmas Past". While visiting the Vietnam Memorial on Christmas Eve, he met singer Jenny Lake (who happened to be a dead ringer for an older version of Mac. Funny how the women in his life look like Mac :) [This is of course because Catherine Bell played Jenny Lake in this episode] ). She was on a USO Tour that stopped on his father's carrier at the time right before he was shot down. She shared her memories of his father with Harm and told him how his father saved her from jumping off the back of the carrier.

We also learn that Harm is not a very good dancer (Into the Breech) in the fifth season.

Harm finds himself facing death more than once in the fifth season. He trapped in the flooding compartment of a submarine (Cabin Pressure). He manages to escape, with a little help from Admiral Chegwidden. He is also on a hijacked plane (The Bridge at Kang So Ri). He also finds out that a hit is ordered on him (Real Deal Seal) by Lt. Rivers. Lt. Rivers doesn’t want him dead, he just wants to flush out the killer, who is pretending to be a former Navy Seal.

Harm, Mac and Bud go to Australia to help Brumby with a case involving an American Naval Officer (Boomerang Part 1 & 2).

While there, passions are ignited. In a heated debate over the case, among other things, Harm and Brumby come to blows. Unfortunately, they miss each other and hit Bud instead, breaking his jaw. Chegwidden then makes the go into a room alone and “settle” their differences.

Harm later unknowingly takes Teresa Coulter’s father’s appeal (Body Talk) and defends him at his new trial. During this trial it is revealed that he did beat her mother, but he did not kill her. Her mother killed herself.

Harm’s personal life got a jump-start with the arrival of Renee Peterson. Renee Peterson first appears in the fifth season episode “Into the Breech.” She is a director who is hired to shoot a recruitment commercial for the Navy. Frustrated by the “boring” jobs she finds, she settles on Harm to star in her commercial (Life or Death). Renee is also on the hijacked plane in “The Bridge at Kang So Ri” and tapes the “trial” in the air.

During this time, Renee and Harm start a relationship. Renee felt that Harm humiliated her in court when her recruitment video and her testimony was used in one of his cases to try prove that the Navy only sells an exciting image, not a realistic one in its commercials (Promises).

In the beginning of the sixth season, Harm travels to Russia and discovers that he has a half-brother, Sergei Zhukov (Legacy). Sergei is the product of Harm’s father and the Russian woman who kept him safe after he escaped in Russia and died protecting (Legacy Part 2).

Harm ends up meeting Fidel Castro while investigating the case of whether a Cuban girl should be returned to Cuba or get to come to the US (Florida Straits).

Harm and Mac conflict while they are investigating the CAG’s case (A Separate Peace Part 1). Mac ends up prosecuting the case, with Harm defending (A Separate Peace Part 2).

Harm attempts to resign his commission and go search for Sergei when he is reported missing. Before he can do that, Webb informs him that Sergei was found and is alive and well.

Harm and Renee’s relationship turned serious in the sixth season, with Renee spending Christmas with Harm (Family Secrets) and meeting his mother.

When Kate Pike visits JAG, we find out that she and Harm had a brief fling, a weekend, when they first worked togehter.

Harm's birthday is October 25, 1963 - which made him just shy of 32 when the show premiered in September of 1995.

To find out more about David James Elliott, please visit DJE Online.

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