Source: United States Navy
Cleveland Navy Week brings Sailors from across the fleet to the area to emphasize the importance of the Navy to Cleveland, the state of Ohio, and the nation.
More than 50 Sailors will participate in education and community outreach events throughout the city.
Participating Navy organizations include U.S. Fleet Forces Band USS Constitution, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, United States Ceremonial Guard and Color Guard, Navy Talent Acquisition Group Ohio River Valley, U.S. Navy Esports, Navy History and Heritage Command, nuclear-power Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Ohio (SSGN 726), the recently christened Freedom-variant Littoral Combat Ship USS Cleveland (LCS 31), and U.S. Fleet Forces.
The Navy’s senior executives are Mr. Andrew Haeuptle, director, Navy Staff for the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations and Rear Adm. Gregory Newkirk, deputy director for operations, National Joint Operations Intelligence Team Two, J3, Joint Staff. Haeuptle is a native of Sandusky and a graduate of The Ohio State University, and Newkirk is a native of Medina and a graduate of Medina High School. During Cleveland Navy Week, they are participating in community engagements, meeting with students, and speaking with local business, civic, and government leaders.
Navy Weeks are a series of outreach events coordinated by the Navy Office of Community Outreach designed to give Americans an 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, providing the public a firsthand look at why the Navy matters to cities like Cleveland.
“We are excited to bring the Navy Week program to Cleveland,” said NAVCO’s director, Cmdr. Anthony Falvo. “Seapower and America’s Navy are more important now than ever before. The U.S. Navy remains our nation’s most powerful instrument of military influence and Navy Weeks allow us to showcase how the Navy serves America at sea, in the air, and ashore.”
Throughout the week, Sailors are participating in various community events across the area, including engaging with students across multiple high schools and at the Boys & Girls Club of Cleveland, volunteering at the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Achievements’ Center Camp Cheerful, and the Greater Cleveland Habitat for Humanity, and publicly visible at the Great Lakes Science Center, Greater Cleveland Aquarium, and Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. Residents will also enjoy free live music by U.S. Fleet Forces Band at venues throughout the week.
Cleveland Navy Week is one of 13 Navy Weeks in 2023, which brings a variety of assets, equipment, and personnel to a single city for a weeklong series of engagements designed to bring America’s Navy closer to the people it protects. Each year, the program reaches more than 140 million people — about half the U.S. population.
Media organizations wishing to cover Cleveland Navy Week events should contact Lt. Caroline Ready at (910) 915-6386 or caroline.e.ready.mil@us.navy.