JANUARY 12, 2017, MILLINGTON, Tenn. (NNS) – From Portland, Maine, to Spokane, Washington, America’s Navy will sail into 15 cities across the country in 2017 as part of the 2017 Navy Week outreach program.
Navy Weeks, coordinated by the Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO), are designed to give Americans the opportunity to learn about the Navy, its people, and its importance to national security and prosperity. Since 2005, the Navy Week program has served as the Navy’s flagship outreach effort into areas of the country without a significant Navy presence, with 195 Navy Weeks held in 71 different U.S. markets.
“Navy Weeks are designed to show Americans the tremendous investment and unmatched capability they have in their Navy,” said Cmdr. John Gay, NAVCO’s director. “Because the Navy is concentrated primarily on both coasts, we’re challenged to communicate our mission away from fleet concentration areas. The Navy Week program helps us do that.”
Navy Weeks are scheduled for the following cities in 2017:
– Mobile, Alabama, Feb. 22-28
– Austin, Texas, March 19-26
– Gulfport/Biloxi, Mississippi, March 31-April 8
– Memphis, Tennessee, May 8-14
– Spokane, Washington, May 15-21
– Pittsburgh, June 19-25
– Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, July 17-23
– Green Bay/Fox Cities, Wisconsin, July 24-30
– Indianapolis, Aug. 7-13
– Portland, Maine, Aug. 21-27
– Detroit, Aug. 28-Sept. 4
– Salt Lake City, Sept. 11-17
– Little Rock, Arkansas, Oct. 16-22
– Fort Worth, Texas, Oct. 23-29
An additional Navy Week will be added during the year at a location and time to be determined.
Navy Weeks bring a variety of events, equipment, and personnel to a single city for a weeklong series of engagements with the public, key influencers, and organizations representing all sectors of the community.
“During a Navy Week, 75-100 outreach events are coordinated with corporate, civic, government, education, media, veterans, community service, and diversity organizations in the city,” said Lt. Cmdr. Brett Dawson, NAVCO’s event planning department head. “We bring in as much of the Navy as we can to raise awareness of the Navy, its mission, and its importance to the public.”
The Blue Angels; the Navy Parachute Team; bands; divers; Seabees; explosive ordnance disposal teams; naval aviation aircraft and aircrew; Sailors from ships and submarines with namesake ties; hometown Sailors; Navy Medicine personnel; USS Constitution Sailors and equipment; Naval History and Heritage Command; science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) and environmental assets; the Navy Ceremonial Guard; and Navy recruiting assets all have participated in the Navy Week program in various capacities over the life of the program.
Navy Week cities are chosen based on a variety of factors, including Gallup data on Navy knowledge and awareness, Navy recruiting data, demographic information, namesake ties of ships and submarines, past outreach history in the market, and geography to ensure events are dispersed across the country.
Last year’s Navy Week program, through the execution of more than 900 individual outreach events, showcased the Navy, its mission, and its people to a combined audience of approximately 70 million Americans.
By Ricky Burke, Navy Office of Community Outreach Public Affairs