Navy participates in 122 year-old San Antonio tradition

SAN ANTONIO (NNS) -- Area Sailors joined more than 400 local residents, military members and veterans at the All Veterans' Memorial service April 28 at Veterans Square, honoring military veterans and marking the end of Fiesta San Antonio.

More than 100 Navy personnel ranging in rank from seaman recruit to rear admiral and representing 11 San Antonio area commands and detachments reached out to the local community by participating in 45 Fiesta events held across San Antonio as part of the annual Fiesta celebration.

Fiesta San Antonio has come a long way since it began in 1891 as a one-parade event. A group of ladies decorated horse-drawn carriages, paraded in front of the Alamo, and pelted each other with flower blossoms. That first parade was organized to honor the heroes from the battles of the Alamo and San Jacinto.

Fast forward to 2013 where there were more than 100 Fiesta events, including the annual Battle of the Flowers Parade of today, which remains one of several Fiesta favorites, said Cmdr. Jason Webb, Navy Recruiting District San Antonio (NRD-SA) commanding officer.

"Our recruiters participate in more than 30 Fiesta events annually, providing exposure that exponentially enhances Navy awareness in Military City USA," Webb said. "All the events this year were great, but the significant events where the Navy had the largest impact were Navy Day at the Alamo, the Battle of the Flowers Parade, and the Flambeau Night Parade."

Navy Day was a free public event held April 23 in front of the historic Alamo in downtown San Antonio, featuring demonstrations from Navy master-at-arms Sailors and military working dogs from the Navy Technical Training Center Lackland, home of the master-at-arms "A" School. Navy career information was provided by NRD-SA recruiters and hospital corps school instructors from the Navy Medicine Training Support Center (NMTSC) at Joint Base San Antonio Fort Sam Houston.

Eric Faulkner, a 24 year-old resident of nearby Schertz, Texas, who visited the local Navy recruiting office the day before, said the Navy Day events had a positive impact on his desire to join the Navy.

"The Navy Day demonstrations were exciting," said Faulkner, who has decided he wants to try to become an master-at-arms (MA). "I was able to talk to instructors and students from the MA school. I left there with a lot more knowledge about the Navy and the master at arms career field. That extra knowledge made me more excited about starting a career in the Navy."

San Antonio Native Rear Adm. "A. B." Cruz, reserve deputy director, Maritime Operations, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, led approximately 20 newly recruited Sailors in the enlistment oath. Then Rear Adm. Bill Roberts, commandant of the Medical Education & Training Campus (METC) at Fort Sam Houston, reenlisted several Sailors stationed at San Antonio area commands.

Roberts, like Webb, said it's events like Navy Day that are significant for creating Navy awareness.

"As a global force for good, America's Navy is making a difference in communities here in San Antonio and throughout Texas," he told local Texans and military personnel attending Navy Day. "The importance of the Navy in safeguarding commercial waterways is critical to the state and national economy. It's a chain reaction. The Navy makes it possible for U.S. and Texan goods to be delivered overseas, and for imports to reach our shores."

All five military services selected two junior officers or enlisted personnel to represent their service as military ambassadors, who attended several events a day throughout Fiesta. The events ranged from morning school visits to afternoon and evening parades and community receptions.

Cryptologic Technician 2nd Class William Cruz, a Key West, Fla., native from the Navy Information Operations Command (NIOC) in San Antonio, and Hospital Corpsman 2nd Class Gina Martinez, a San Antonio native and respiratory therapy instructor at the tri-service METC, served as Navy Fiesta ambassadors.

"Fiesta was a great experience," Cruz said. "I'm thankful the Navy chose me to represent them. I think the ambassador program and the military participation as a whole were a small token to demonstrate to the community how much the military appreciates the community support."

Despite inclement weather that included several downpours, Cruz said his favorite parade was the April 27 Fiesta Flambeau Night Parade that rolled along a 2.6-mile parade route through downtown San Antonio. The annual Fiesta Flambeau Parade is one of the largest illuminated parades in the US with an estimated 700,000-plus spectators lining the streets and another 1.5 million in the television viewing audience.

"Our ambassadors were awesome representatives," said Capt. Gail Hathaway, commander of the Navy Medicine Education and Training Command (NMETC) at Fort Sam Houston. "All our Sailors were awesome representatives. I could not be more proud of them. It was nice to see the white Navy uniforms among the sea of Air Force blue and Army green in what has traditionally been an Army and Air Force community."

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