The Navy descends on Montgomery

Montgomery hosted the Capitol's first Navy Week from April 1 to 7. The celebration emphasized the importance of the U.S. Navy to Montgomery, the state of Alabama, and the nation.

Montgomery Mayor Steven Reed issued a proclamation to salute the Navy and kick off Navy Week.

"This week as we enjoy the festivities, let us also renew our commitment to supporting our servicemembers, veterans and their families, fostering a community that recognizes and appreciates their unyielding commitment to our nation," said Reed.

The Navy's senior executive for the week is Rear Adm. Charles "Mike" Brown, Reserve Deputy Chief of Naval Operations for Information Warfare, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations.

"The purpose of Navy Week is to bring your Navy closer to you," said Admiral Brown. "Closer to the citizens of Alabama, the citizens of Montgomery and help you see the value that you receive every day of a globally deployed force that protects America's security, its economic prosperity and its way of life."

The Alabama Department of Archives and History hosted the Navy Band Southeast Woodwind Quintet on Tuesday. On Thursday crew members of the U.S.S. Constitution, U.S.S. Montgomery littoral combat ship (LCS 8), and U.S.S. Alabama ballistic missile submarine (SSBN731).

Members of the Navy attended the Alabama State University versus Troy baseball game on Tuesday night.

Participating Navy organizations include Navy Band Southeast, USS Constitution, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, United States Ceremonial Guard and Color Guard, Navy Talent Acquisition Group Atlanta, U.S. Navy Esports, U.S. Naval Academy, Navy History and Heritage Command, nuclear-power Ohio-class guided-missile submarine USS Alabama (SSBN 731), and the Independence-class Littoral Combat Ship USS Montgomery (LCS 8).

In addition to Brown, Command Master Chief Keith Wilkerson with MyNavy Career Center participated as a Navy senior executive host in the city of Montgomery during Navy Week.

There was a STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) Expo at Maxwell Air Force Base on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. 30 exhibitors participated in the expo including: Alabama State, the 20th Special Forces Group, Faulkner University, the Air Force Wargaming Institute, Auburn University Montgomery, Troy University, the U.S. Naval Academy, the Space and Rocket Center, and more.

The week concluded with an Air Show on Saturday and Sunday at Maxwell Air Force Base.

The airshow will feature a performance by the U.S. Navy Blue Angels.

The Blue Angels team is stationed at Forrest Sherman Field, at the Naval Air Station in Pensacola, Florida, during the air show season. The squadron spends January through March training at Naval Air Facility in El Centro, California. They fly the Navy's F/A-18 fighter jet.

Additional performers include the U.S. Army Golden Knights Parachute Team, F-16 Viper Demo Team, an F-16 and a World War II era P-51 Mustang both in Tuskegee Airmen Red Tails paint schemes, Greg Koontz of Ashville who perform aerial aerobatics, Rob Holland performing aerial aerobatics in his customized MXS-RH airplane, the Redline aerial aerobatics team of Ken Rieder and Austin Rieder flying Van's RV-8 2-seat, tandem aircraft, Kyle Fowler flying the unconventional delta-winged Long EZ, and Bob Carlton flying a twin jet engine Foxjet sailplane.

In addition a MH139 helicopter, a Fairchild A-10C Thunderbolt II attack bomber, F-15 Strike Eagle, F1-A jet, T-38 jet trainer, T-68 Texan trainer, HC-130J Combat King II, a PT-7 biplane the Tuskegee Airmen trained on, a Fairchild PT-19A Cornell trainer, KC-135 Stratotanker, and a Soviet Mikoyan-Gurevich Mig-17 were on display for the event.

There will be a total of 15 Navy weeks across the U.S.A. during 2024.

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