St. Louis will host members of the U.S. Navy during St. Louis Navy Week, Sept. 2-8, in conjunction with the Spirit of St. Louis Air Show and STEM Expo.

St. Louis Navy Week will bring Sailors from different Navy units across the U.S. to conduct focused outreach with members of the community.

Navy Weeks are a series of outreach events coordinated by the Navy Office of Community Outreach designed to give Americans an opportunity to learn about the Navy, its people and its importance to national security and prosperity. Since 2005, the Navy Week program has served as the Navy’s flagship outreach effort into areas of the country without a significant Navy presence, providing the public a firsthand look at the Navy the nation needs.

The program plays a vital role in connecting the American public with a large array of Sailors, assets and equipment. The weeklong event strives to engage with local communities who do not have frequent visibility of the Navy.

"Our Sailors are extremely excited to visit St. Louis and showcase just a small portion of our Navy's capabilities to the local community," said Lt. David Carter, lead planner for St. Louis Navy Week. "We’ll have representatives from explosive ordnance disposal, naval research, small business programs, the United States Naval Academy, Navy Band Great Lakes, USS Constitution, and the brand new Freedom-Class littoral combat ship, USS St. Louis in town for the week.”

The Navy Week’s senior executive host will be Vice Admiral Thomas Moore, Commander of Naval Sea Systems Command. Moore will receive a Navy week Proclamation from Mayor Lyda Krewson, Wednesday Sept. 4, at the Soldiers’ Memorial Military Museum. Moore will also participate in various ceremonies and meet with local businesses, civic, education and government leaders during the week.

“As a lifelong Cardinals fan, I am extremely excited for the opportunity to take part in St. Louis Navy Week and thank the great people of St. Louis for their support of our men and women in uniform. In this era of great power completion, it is the Navy who is going to be called upon more than ever to ensure we protect freedom of the seas around the world. Important community outreach engagements, like Navy Week, are critical to our success as a service,” said Moore.

Sailors participating come from a wide range of commands, demonstrating the Navy’s versatility and vitality in protecting and defending America around the world, around the clock.

Although Navy Week will highlight a variety of programs and Sailors during the week, St. Louis and the surrounding areas are no stranger to a Navy presence as there is a local Navy Reserve Center and Navy Recruiting District in the area.  

"Sitting at the confluence of North America's two largest rivers, Navy Operation Support Center (NOSC) St. Louis is the Navy at the heart of our nation. Our team manages & supports over 650 Reserve Sailors, who mostly live near St. Louis, in fulfilling missions around the globe. Additionally, our Navy Funeral Honors Team conducts more than 1,200 ceremonial honors of Navy veterans per year -- one of the busiest & most-experienced funeral honors teams in the country,” said Commander Rob Lewis, commanding officer of NOSC St. Louis.

“St. Louis Navy Week offers us the opportunity to showcase our extremely talented & dedicated pool of Reserve Sailors. These patriots work in our community in their civilian capacities in business, public service, law enforcement, and education. They have also answered the call to serve our country in the U.S. Navy, volunteering to deploy around the globe in support of our nations' national security objectives. This year's Navy Week is a superb opportunity to show that many of America's best sailors are from St. Louis, Missouri, and the Heartland!  We hope to use the event as an opportunity to not only educate the local community about our branch of service, but also strengthen the relationships with those who may someday make up our force," Lewis said.

The week will culminate at the Spirit of St. Louis Air Show and STEM Expo with performances from the Navy’s Blue Angels. Other activities at during air show include Navy STEM and research presentations, Navy recruiting booths, and Sailors from commands around the United States.

St. Louis Navy Week is one of 14 Navy Weeks in 2019, focusing a variety of assets, equipment and personnel on a single city for a weeklong series of engagements designed to bring America’s Navy closer to the people it protects. Each year, the program reaches more than 133 million people -- about half the U.S. population.

For more information and a full schedule of public events, visit

https://www.outreach.navy.mil/Navy-Weeks/St-Louis/

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