RICHMOND, Va. — Dozens of sailors will return to Central Virginia as part of Richmond Navy Week this spring.
The world’s largest naval station may sit in Norfolk about 100 miles away, but it’s the River City that was chosen to host the American Navy from May 12 to 18.
Lt. J.G. Madison Kwok told CBS 6 they intentionally select locations that rarely connect with the Navy so they can meet different communities through events and engagement.
Richmond hosted Navy Week in 2022, and sailors volunteered at Feedmore Food Bank and built a home on the city’s Northside.
This year, 50 to 75 sailors will arrive in Richmond. Some of them have ties to or were born in Central Virginia, so the week also serves as a homecoming.
“We've hit 300 cities since our start in 2005,” Kwok explained. “This will be the second time that we've worked with Richmond, and because we were able to set up a foundation of networks and community and reception in 2022 — this was kind of just an easy win for us to come back to a place that we just had such success with in 2022.”
Since 2005, America’s Navy has come home to up to 15 cities across the country every year.
The Navy Week program has served as the Navy's principal outreach effort into areas of the nation without a significant Navy presence, with over 300 Navy Weeks held in 95 different U.S. cities.
The program is designed to share with Americans how their Navy is deployed around the world and around the clock, and why a strong Navy is vital to protecting the American way of life, according to their website.
“We don't always get to work with Richmond and while we cannot bring ships to Richmond, the goal is to feel our presence with sailors and that's meeting you in the community,” Kwok said.
The third week of May was chosen so the Navy could have a presence at the Dominion Energy Riverrock Festival.
Other cities chosen to host the Navy include American Samoa, Anchorage, Alaska, and Wichita Falls, Texas.
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