Navy Office of Community Outreach
SAN DIEGO – A 2009 Emmanual Christian High School graduate and Dothan, Alabama, native is serving aboard the WWII namesake warship, USS Spruance.
Petty Officer 2nd Class James Norris is an electronics technician aboard the San Diego based ship, a guided missile destroyer.
As an electronics technician, Norris is responsible for leading other sailors who perform maintenance on all radar navigation as well as internal and external communication equipment aboard the ship.
More than 300 Sailors serve aboard the ship, and their jobs are highly specialized, requiring both dedication and skill. The jobs range from maintaining engines to handling weaponry along with a multitude of other assignments that keep the ship mission ready at all times, according to Navy officials.
Norris has carried lessons learned from his hometown into his military service.
“I grew up shooting and hunting with my dad,” he said. "I was always tinkering with things and interested in electronics. I like taking things apart and putting them back together. In the Navy, I’m heavily involved with the anti-terrorism training team aboard and teaching sailors how to efficiently combat different threats aboard the ship."
Destroyers are warships that provide multi-mission offensive and defensive capabilities. They are about 510 feet long and can be armed with tomahawk land-attack cruise missiles, variants of the SM missile family, advanced gun systems and close-in gun systems. Destroyers are deployed globally and can operate independently, as part of carrier strike groups, surface action groups, or amphibious readiness groups.
Spruance is armed with long range missiles intended for air defense to counter threats to friendly forces posed by manned aircraft, anti-ship, cruise and ballistic missiles.
It was commissioned in 2011 and named after Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. He was a key naval commander during WWII, leading U.S. naval forces during two of the most significant naval battles that took place in the Pacific Theatre: Battle of Midway and Battle of the Philippine Sea. He later served as the U.S. Ambassador to the Philippines.
At Midway, Spruance scored the first major victory for the United States over Japan; generally considered to be the turning point of the war in the Pacific.
“USS Spruance is responsible for 22 mission areas, with 350 people onboard each Sailor actively supports multiple missions, said Cmdr. Joshua Menzel, commanding officer of Spruance. “As a member of the Pacific Fleet, the crew of USS SPRUANCE patrol the same waters and trains to perform the same missions as the Sailors Admiral Spruance commanded during WWII.”
Norris has military ties with family members who have previously served and is honored to carry on the family tradition.
“My grandfather retired from the Army and served during World War II and my other grandfather retired from the Navy,” he said. “I appreciate my family heritage and military history and I'm also creating my own tradition with my own family. My wife serves in the Navy as a fire controlman. She and I both plan on making this a career.”
Norris’s proudest accomplishment is running his work center with many junior sailors.
“I'm responsible for many sailors every day,” he added. "Seeing their motivation while they strive to further themselves and watching them succeed makes me feel like I’m doing my job right. I'm most proud however of my family and and the way they support my career."
As a member of one of the U.S. Navy’s most relied-upon assets, Norris and other Spruance sailors know they are part of a legacy that will last beyond their lifetimes.
“I never really got plugged into anything to say I was proud of until I joined the Navy,” said Norris. "I believe I’m actually serving for everyone in our country. I know doing my job is playing a role in helping the entire nation. It gives me a sense of pride knowing that what I'm doing has an impact across the country. In a sense, I have a responsibility to all Americans which motivates me to do my job well."