[4] He served as the 43rd Judge Advocate General (JAG) of the United States Navy from June 26, 2015, to September 12, 2018.

[6] He was commissioned through the Judge Advocate General (JAG) Corps Student Program and in 1983 graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law at Chapel Hill.

Crawford is the principal military legal counsel to the Secretary of the Navy and Chief of Naval Operations and serves as the Department of Defense representative for ocean policy affairs (REPOPA).

He led 2,300 attorneys, enlisted legalmen and civilian employees of the worldwide Navy JAG Corps community.

Less than two months prior to his retirement, the Navy Times reported on a ruling from the Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces that he had illegally influenced the prosecution of Senior Chief Special Warfare Operator Keith E. Barry (on charges of rape of a girlfriend).

The Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces found Crawford's involvement constituted "unlawful influence.

Crawford is Catholic, and attended Nativity Church in Burke, Virginia, before assuming the presidency at Felician.