By Mass Communication Specialist Seaman
Preston Paglinawan, Navy Region Southeast Pulic Affairs
PORT EVERGLADES, Fla. (NNS) -- More than
800 Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen participated in the official beginning
of the U.S. Navy's largest community outreach effort in south Florida April 25
at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino in Hollywood, Fla.
The All Hands on Deck Welcoming Party
and "roll call," a Fleet Week Port Everglades mainstay hosted by
Broward Navy Days, local Navy leagues, city and county officials, served as a
platform for the city of Hollywood, Fla. - bordered by Port Everglades, Fla.,
and 25 miles from Miami - to welcome Sailors, Marines and Coast Guardsmen to a
city with no significant U.S. Navy presence.
Broward Navy Days Treasurer Colleen
Lockwood said Hollywood, Fla., and the surrounding municipalities anticipate
the week-long Fleet Week Port Everglades event each year, now in its 22nd
iteration.
"We love the fact that we have our
active duty military in town," she said. "It's exciting and [Sailors]
go out and do projects for churches, hospitals, schools and charities."
Fleet Week Port Everglades is a weeklong
event hosted by Broward Navy Days and local Navy Leagues, and is designed to
showcase the sea services, honor the men and women of the sea services through
public events and recognition, and provide the sea services an opportunity to
showcase the capabilities of surface platforms, equipment and the skills of the
men and women serving aboard these vessels.
Service members from multipurpose
amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1), Ticonderoga-class guided missile
cruisers USS San Jacinto (CG 56) and USS Gettysburg (CG 64), Oliver Hazard
Perry-class frigate USS DeWert (FFG 45), U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bernard C.
Webber, the Los Angeles-class fast attack submarine USS Dallas (SSN 700), as
well as U.S. Marines from the 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit are scheduled to
participate in a number of community outreach activities as well as enjoy the
hospitality and tourism of South Florida during Fleet Week Port Everglades.
Service members from the five visiting
ships and submarine along with thousands of residents from the south Florida
community attended the four-hour function, which included a free buffet dinner,
a traditional exchange of plaques between visiting ship's commanding officers
and city and county officials and an opportunity for community members to
interact with service members.
"I'm certainly glad that the Navy
and Marine Corps came together today to have a good time because they all do a
great job for our country and they deserve to have some good r&r,"
said Nashville, Tenn., resident and Fleet Week Port Everglades visitor Mary
Rollins.
The welcoming party also included a
"roll call" from each of the visiting ships. After the introduction
of each vessel's commanding officer, service members in ranks provided a
"call," representing their ship.
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