Clay Harrison is a native of Sulphur Springs, Texas. He is the son of Dr. Juan and Mrs. Sheri Harrison. After graduating from high school in 2002, he attended the University of Texas at Austin on an Air Force ROTC scholarship. He graduated from college and commissioned as a military officer at age 20 before attending law school at Baylor University on an academic scholarship. He joined the Air Force JAG Corps at 24 and served for four years in Georgia, Okinawa, and other locations. During his military service, he was deployed to the tropical island of Mindanao in the Philippines in support of counterinsurgency operations against the Abu Sayyaf ("Bearer of the Sword") terror group. The Abu Sayyaf organization made its reputation as a particularly violent jihadist threat in the southern Philippines, specializing in kidnapping for ransom operations. As the lone attorney for a joint special operations unit of Navy SEALs, Army Special Forces, and other combat soldiers, he advised military commanders on the law of war and rules of engagement as well as numerous civil law issues. He also directed an intelligence program that rewarded Filipino civilians for providing information on high value enemy targets. He separated honorably from the Air Force in the summer of 2012 in order to return home to Texas. In 2013 he wrote The Great and Terrible Wilderness, a novel, and made the transition from military JAG to civilian prosecutor. Clay and his wife Tara lead the Crossover young adult ministry at The Way Bible Church and are expecting their first child in April. Clay currently serves as an Assistant District Attorney for Hopkins, Franklin, and Delta Counties.