Navy Weeks are designed to educate Americans on the importance of Naval service, understand the investment they make in their Navy and to increase awareness in cities which might not otherwise see the Navy at work on a regular basis.
Navy Weeks are organized around an "anchor event" or large community event such as a state fair or a public holiday celebration. By planning Navy Weeks around or in conjunction with these larger public events, Navy Week participants are able to increase the awareness of a larger number of people from diverse geographic areas in regions all across the United States.
About 20 Navy Weeks are led by the Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO) each year. Cities and towns are selected based on a wide range of criteria with careful consideration given to aspects such as anchor events, Blue Angels air shows, asset availability, city size, demographic make-up, geographic region, relationship building, relationship sustainment and new outreach opportunities.
A typical Navy Week has two main elements:
Participating in any given Navy Week along with the Flag officer and Navy Band are active-duty and reserve Navy Public Affairs Officers, local civic organizations, as well as local sailors and recruiters from the regional Navy Recruiting District (NRD). In addition, crew members from a namesake ship will participate in the Navy Week (e.g., sailors from the USS Cleveland visit the city of Cleveland during Cleveland Navy Week).