Navy Week Comes to Huntsville for the First Time, Timed to the Service's 250th Anniversary

Navy Week is coming to Huntsville for the first time since the program began in 2005, bringing a series of outreach events to the city next week.

The timing carries added meaning this year. The visit coincides with the Navy's 250th birthday, which the service describes as a quarter-millennium of maritime excellence, national security and global leadership.

Huntsville Navy Week is the fourth of 15 such events planned for 2025. Each one gathers assets, equipment and personnel in a single city for a week of engagements meant to bring the Navy closer to the people it protects. The program reaches more than 140 million people each year, roughly half the U.S. population.

Cmdr. Julie Holland, director of the Navy Office of Community Outreach, said the service's advantage comes not only from advanced weapons systems but, more importantly, from its skilled sailors at sea and ashore. She described Huntsville as "an epicenter of innovation, space exploration, and defense" and said a visit there offers a chance to connect with a community whose values of service, science and national security align with those of the Navy.

More than 50 sailors, including some with direct ties to the area, will take part in education and community outreach events around the city. Cyber Warfare Technician 2nd Class Carolyn Shelby McGilvray, a Montevallo native assigned to Navy Information Operations Command Pensacola, said the week lets her share her experiences and offers a real look at the opportunities the Navy has given her.

The schedule includes a proclamation and cast-off ceremony at the Space & Rocket Center and Military Night at a Rocket City Trash Pandas baseball game. Sailors will also appear at the Hazel Green High School NJROTC Showcase, the Floyd E. "Tut" Fann State Veterans Home, Cocktails at the View at Burritt on the Mountain, the Panoply Arts Festival and the Huntsville Comic and Pop Culture Expo. Other stops include the Arbor Day 5K Race, a college beach volleyball championship, Lowe Mill ARTS and Entertainment, and a Huntsville City Football Club match. Navy Band Southeast will perform live music at venues across the city.

Volunteer work is also on the agenda. Sailors are expected to help organizations including the Boys & Girls Clubs, Downtown Rescue Mission, Manna House Food Distribution, Huntsville Community Drumline, Next Step Farms, the Food Bank of North Alabama, 305 Eighth Street Community, Habitat for Humanity, Operation Making a Difference, Sleep in Heavenly Peace and the Huntsville Botanical Garden.

Rear Adm. Todd Weeks, program executive officer for strategic submarines, is the senior executive for the week. He will join community engagements and meet with local business, civic, education and government leaders.

Participating sailors will come from a range of commands and units. They include the littoral combat ships USS Jackson, USS Montgomery and USS Mobile, as well as USS Constitution, Navy Talent Acquisition Group Nashville, the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard and Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Eleven. Representatives from the Navy Bureau of Medicine, Naval History and Heritage Command, Navy Band Southeast, Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center and Navy eSports will also take part, along with a Strike Group virtual reality activation.