San Francisco Fleet Week is unique because it features a disaster response joint training exercise designed to train military forces and local, county, state and federal government agencies to work together to respond to natural and man-made disasters, such as earthquakes, wildfires and industrial accidents.  During her keynote address at the fleet week’s Senior Leader Symposium, Ms. Berger spoke to senior leaders in the federal, state and local emergency management field and highlighted the DON’s recently-released Climate Action 2030 strategy, which sets the course for the Navy and Marine Corps to build climate resilience and reduce the climate threat while partnering with communities to tackle shared challenges.

“Changes in global climate and other threats like pandemics are increasingly challenging our Naval forces, platforms, infrastructure and supporting communities, and intensifying conflict and humanitarian disasters around the world,” said Ms. Berger.  “A more volatile world calls on the United States Navy and Marine Corps, increasing demands on our forces at home and overseas, while simultaneously impacting our capacity to respond to those demands.”

The Navy has a long history of working closely with communities in California to make Navy and Marine Corps installations climate-ready.  Last year, the DON and the California Energy Commission renewed a Memorandum of Understanding to streamline collaboration and accelerate initiatives for energy and water-related projects.  In September 2022, the Navy launched a first-of-its-kind partnership with the Port of San Diego to participate in California’s Low Carbon Fuel Standard program, which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, improve air quality, and advance energy resilience investments in San Diego.

“We are making significant strides in partnership with California and worldwide in ensuring the DON is resilient in the face of climate change, working hand in hand with local communities and industry,” said Ms. Berger. “Recent partnerships with the California Energy Commission and Port of San Diego are critical to our climate work in the region and supports our efforts by building resilience to climate impacts and taking decisive action to reduce the climate threat.”

San Francisco Fleet Week offers the public an opportunity to take a tour of the ships and interact with service members as they showcase their ships’, units’, and services’ capabilities. It also gives the public a chance to gain a better understanding of how the sea services support the national defense of the United States and protect freedom of the seas. 

For more information on San Francisco Fleet Week please visit: https://fleetweeksf.org/