Even as a young child, Rear Admiral James W. Crawford III ’83 knew he wanted a career as an attorney.
“In the era in which I grew up, the law played a tremendous role in changing the trajectory of the lives of African Americans in this country,” Crawford says. “My dad used to tell me, 'You want to be part of something bigger than yourself.' The law drew me because it has the capacity to be the great equalizer; everyone is equal before the law.”
After graduating from Belmont Abbey College in 1979, Crawford was commissioned in the U.S. Navy through the JAG Corps Student Program during his second year of law school at UNC. He later earned a Master of Laws degree (Ocean and Coastal Law) from the University of Miami (Florida) School of Law and a Master of Arts degree in National Security and Strategic Studies from the Naval War College.
“Serving in the military gives me the opportunity to strengthen my life as well as offer something of value to my nation,” he says.
After holding a wide range of leadership positions in the Navy, Crawford was promoted to the second most senior lawyer in the Navy and serves as the deputy judge advocate general of the Navy (DJAG), working as the deputy Department of Defense representative for Ocean Policy Affairs. In addition, he is the commander of the Naval Legal Service Command, where he leads the attorneys, enlisted legalmen (Navy paralegals), and civilian employees of 15 commands, providing prosecution and defense services, legal services to individuals, and legal support to Navy commands around the world.
“I have 2,240 people who serve underneath me,” Crawford says. “Day-to-day, I lead worldwide, discrete commands and legal offices. No two days are ever the same. One day, I could be in Europe dealing with criminal litigation, or addressing matters associated with Navy personnel deployed in the theater of combat, and the next I could be in the continental U.S. engaged with my environmental law counsel.”
Crawford says that his most rewarding Navy experience was on 9/11 when he was serving as a deputy legal counsel to the chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
I was in the Pentagon that day, and following the attack I joined the watch team in the National Military Command Center, working to support our military and civilian leadership, providing advice up to the highest level – including the president," he says. “I feel blessed that I was in a place where my nation needed me, and I was able to make a contribution.”
He is also grateful for his years in Chapel Hill.
“Carolina Law was a tremendous learning environment that helped me frame my approach to problem solving, hone my ability to think critically about issues from 360 degrees, and challenge myself,” he says. “If you want to be an agent of change, you can't be comfortable. Carolina helped me with the capacity to think about things in a comprehensive, critical way and extend my reach.”
Crawford would love to have more Carolina alumni serve alongside him. “I would say to Carolina Law students: if you are about service … if you are about opportunity … if you are about doing things that are unusual, then the JAG Corps is a place you may want to consider,” he says. “From the time of John Paul Jones to today, the line of honor, courage, and commitment is unbroken. If that's what students are interested in (and if they also want to have fun), they should come see me.”
With twin 7-year-old boys and a job that brings new challenges daily, Crawford says that every day is a surprise.
“I'm blessed to have my wife and sons and to serve my country," he says. “I sit in this chair not only because of the legal education but also the broader education I had the privilege to obtain at Carolina Law.”
-April 27, 2015