Montana Is Hosting It’s First Ever Navy Week In Hopes Of Increasing Navy Awareness
Currently, folks are experiencing the first ever Navy Week in Montana. Admiral Michael Holland, director of Maritime Headquarters at United States Pacific Fleet, is from Great Falls. Holland returned to his home state as the ranking officer during the Navy Week events.
“We brought some explosive ordinance folks from San Diego and some Civil Engineers from off the Gulf Coast and they are doing some activities down in Billings,” said Holland. “They are doing some shows of robotics and other construction related things down at the fair. They are also doing some community relation events with Habitat For Humanity, the YMCA and the Boys and Girls Club.”
According to Holland, the Navy receives quite a few recruits from Butte and Bozeman each year.
“Overall, several dozen folks come out of Montana, about a dozen officers each year and then more are enlisted as well,” Holland said. “There are a good number of folks. I have been surprised at how many Navy veterans I have run into during our tour as well.”
On Tuesday, Holland met with city and state officials in Helena in order to increase awareness and show the importance of the Navy and its mission. He says folks can participate in a variety of activities from now until Sunday, August 20th. Here is a list of all the events going on the rest of the week.