If health conditions permit, the Navy will participate in various community outreach events in and around the city, with the Mid-South Air Show and Blue Angels performance as the weekend anchor event.
Memphis Navy Week will bring between 50 and 100 Sailors from across the nation to volunteer throughout the community and give residents as change to meet Navy personnel and discuss why the Navy matters to Memphis.
Memphis Navy Week will feature in-person demonstrations, performances, and engagements throughout the week that include:
- Senior Navy Leaders – Flag officer and senior civilian Navy leaders with ties to Memphis and the surrounding area.
- Namesake Sailors – Sailors serving on USS Tennessee (SSBN 734), an Ohio-class ballistic missile submarine.
- Navy Band Great Lakes – Performances and masterclasses with Navy Musicians.
- Naval History and Heritage Command – Educational presentations and lesson plans that highlight the ties between Memphis and the Navy.
- USS Constitution – Demonstrations about the oldest commissioned ship in the Navy.
- Navy Expeditionary Combat Command – Educational STEM presentations and fitness demonstrations by technicians, medics, and divers.
- U.S. Navy Parachute Team – Jump demonstrations by the Navy Leap Frogs.
- U.S. Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command – Educational presentation on the importance of atmospheric and oceanographic science and the overall value of STEM education to the Navy.
Every Sailor selected to participate in Memphis Navy Week, except those with an approved waiver for health or religious reasons, will be fully vaccinated against COVID-19. The Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO) will work closely with community partners in Memphis and follow guidance from public health officials.
Navy Weeks are the service’s signature outreach program, designed to allow the citizens of Memphis to learn about the Navy, its people, and its importance to national security and prosperity. NAVCO coordinates Navy Weeks.
“We are very excited to bring Navy Week to Memphis,” said NAVCO’s director, Cmdr. John Fage. “Navy Weeks give us the opportunity to help connect Americans to their Navy. We are looking forward to safely and responsibly building those connections in the Memphis area and showing everyone why their Navy is so important.
Since 2005, the Navy Week program has served as the Navy’s flagship outreach effort to regions without a significant Navy presence, with over 250 Navy Weeks held in more than 80 different U.S. markets. Memphis is the sixth Navy Week in 2022.
“We coordinate about 75 outreach events during a Navy Week,” said NAVCO Navy Week program manager Lt. Cmdr. Kevin Chambers. “Outreach events range from corporate, civic, government, education, media, veterans, to community service engagements. The 2022 schedule is exciting for us because we will be in several brand-new markets, and making return visits to great markets like Memphis.”
For more information on Memphis Navy Week, contact Ian Lundy at (901) 874-5803 or ian.p.lundy.civ@us.navy.mil.