His radar and electrical engineering background led to his near decade long involvement with the development of the Marine Tactical Data System (MTDS).

He served as the commanding officer (CO) of Marine Air Control Squadron 3 (MACS-3) for more than four years from 1961-1965 as MTDS went through operational test and evaluation.

He was the president of his senior class at the Missouri School of Mines and graduated with a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering in February 1943.

Upon his return to the United States in January 1946, he entered flight training at Naval Air Station Corpus Christi, Texas.

He remained at Quantico for a few more months before attending the United States Naval Postgraduate Schools at Annapolis, Maryland and Monterey in California.

[1] Promoted to lieutenant colonel in January 1959, Fris was made the Marine Corps Liaison Officer with Litton Industries in Los Angeles, California, in July.

During this time, MACS-3 was the designated operational test and evaluation squadron for MTDS seeing it through numerous financial and developmental issues until it was officially fielded in 1966.

Fris was reassigned to Headquarters Marine Corps in August 1966, as Head, Aviation Command Control and Communications Branch, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff (Air).

Following this assignment he took command of Marine Air Control Group 18 (MACG-18), in July 1968 and served a year in Danang, South Vietnam.