[3] Raised in Sparks, Nevada, he graduated from the United States Air Force Academy with a degree in International Affairs and was commissioned in 1985.

[6][7] Responding to a query about his Armenian heritage, Harrigian wrote: "My grandparents on my Dad's side came from the Yerevan area in Armenia."

He has served in a variety of flying and staff assignments, including Deputy Director for Strategy, Plans and Assessments, United States Forces-Iraq, in support of operation Iraqi Freedom and as Chief of the Joint Exercise Division at NATO's Joint Warfare Center, Stavanger, Norway.

He served as Deputy Director of Operations (J3) at United States Central Command, MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

He also served as Director, F-35 Integration Office, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Virginia.

July 1985 – August 1986, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, Williams Air Force Base, Ariz. 2.

August 1999 – January 2000, instructor pilot, F-15 Division; and Chief, Advanced Programs, Director of Tactics, U.S. Air Force Weapons School, Nellis AFB, Nev. 11.

December 2004 – August 2005, Air Force Fellow, George C. Marshall European Center for Security Studies, Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Germany 15.

August 2014 – April 2015, Assistant Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, the Pentagon, Arlington, Va. 22.