Now hear this! Navy set to drop anchor in the Rocket City

MILLINGTON, Tenn. – Navy Week will set sail for Huntsville for the first time since the inception of the program in 2005, with a variety of outreach events next week.

This year’s Huntsville Navy Week holds special significance as it coincides with the Navy’s 250th birthday — a historic milestone celebrating a quarter-millennium of maritime excellence, national security, and global leadership.

Huntsville Navy Week is the fourth of 15 Navy Weeks in 2025, which brings a variety of assets, equipment, and personnel to a single city for a week-long 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.

“As we celebrate 250 years of naval tradition and excellence as a maritime nation, we recognize that it’s not only the world’s most advanced weapons systems, but more importantly, our highly skilled sailors — at sea and ashore — who provide an unmatched advantage in promoting global security, deterring aggression, and safeguarding the American way of life,” said Cmdr. Julie Holland, director of the Navy Office of Community Outreach. “Bringing Navy Week to Huntsville — an epicenter of innovation, space exploration, and defense — creates a meaningful opportunity to connect with a community whose values of service, science, and national security deeply align with those of the Navy.”

During Huntsville Navy Week, more than 50 sailors, to include those with direct ties to the area, will engage in education and community outreach events throughout the city.

“This Navy Week is important to me because it gives me a chance to tell others about my experiences in the Navy, and it gives a real look into the opportunities the Navy has provided me,” said Cyber Warfare Technician 2nd Class Carolyn Shelby McGilvray, a native of Montevallo assigned to Navy Information Operations Command (NOIC) Pensacola.

Huntsville Navy Week events include a proclamation and cast-off ceremony at the Space & Rocket Center; Military Night at a Rocket City Trash Pandas baseball game; Hazel Green High School NJROTC Showcase; Floyd E. “Tut” Fann State Veterans Home; Cocktails at the View at Burritt on the Mountain; Panoply Arts Festival; Huntsville Comic and Pop Culture Expo; Arbor Day 5K Race; College Beach Volleyball Championship; Lowe Mill ARTS and Entertainment; Huntsville City Football Club and live music at venues throughout the city performed by Navy Band Southeast.

For a schedule of events, click here.

Sailors will also volunteer with organizations such as Boys & Girls Clubs; Downtown Rescue Mission; Manna House Food Distribution; Huntsville Community Drumline; Next Step Farms; Food Bank of North Alabama; 305 Eighth Street Community; Habitat for Humanity; Operation Making a Difference; Sleep in Heavenly Peace and Huntsville Botanical Garden, among others.

Huntsville Navy Week Senior Executive Rear Adm. Todd Weeks, program executive officer, strategic submarines, will participate in community engagements and meet with local business, civic, education, and government leaders.

Other Navy Week sailors will include those from the Independence-class Littoral combat ship USS Jackson (LCS 6), USS Montgomery (LCS 8), and Independence-variant Littoral combat ship USS Mobile, USS Constitution, Navy Talent Acquisition Group Nashville, U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard, Naval Mobile Construction Battalion Eleven, Navy Bureau of Medicine, Naval History and Heritage Command, Navy Band Southeast, Fleet Numerical Meterology and Oceanograpy Center, Navy eSports, and the Strike Group virtual reality activation.