One of 13 Navy Weeks being held nationally in 2021, Santa Fe Navy Week (November 8 – 12, 2021) will bring a variety of assets, equipment, and personnel to the city for a weeklong series of engagements designed to bring America’s Navy closer to the communities it serves. So long as local health conditions permit, Santa Fe Navy Week will feature live demonstrations, performances, and engagements throughout the week that will include sailors and personnel assigned to USS Santa Fe (SSN 763), USS Constitution, USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76), Naval Surface Warfare Center Detachment White Sands, Navy Band Southwest, Naval Meteorology and Oceanography Command, Navy Operational Support Center Albuquerque, Navy Talent Acquisition Group Phoenix, Naval History and Heritage Command, United States Naval Academy and Naval Office of Small Business Programs.
Events scheduled for Navy Week Santa Fe range from live musical performances and ceremonies on Veterans Day to helping build a Habitat for Humanity Home, as well as school programs, helping at Kitchen Angels, and much more. See the full schedule here. Events begin November 8 and run through November 12, 2021.
The Navy Office of Community Outreach is continuing to work closely with community partners in Santa Fe and is carefully monitoring guidance from public health officials to ensure in-person events can be held safely. All participating commands will follow DOD, CDC, state, and local guidelines to safeguard against COVID-19.
Sailors participating in Santa Fe Navy Week will undergo daily screening at the unit level in compliance with CDC guidelines, and will conduct frequent hand washing and adhere to standing mask and social distancing policies. To the maximum extent possible, Navy Week events will be held outdoors. For events held indoors, only the required Navy personnel will be sent to support.
Rear Admiral Chris Engdahl, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Seven, will serve as the senior Navy representative. Engdahl will attend community engagements and meet with local and state leadership in Santa Fe.
“I was honored to be a part of Santa Fe’s virtual Navy week last year, so it is exciting for my wife and I to travel to New Mexico and represent the Navy here in Santa Fe this year,” said Rear Admiral Engdahl. “As a namesake city of an incredible attack submarine and home to many veterans, active duty and reserve personnel, I look forward to reconnecting this year and strengthening the Navy’s partnership with the citizens and leadership in this wonderful city.”
Local residents will be able to meet their U.S. Navy sailors throughout the week and around town as they provide demonstrations, concerts and other interactive experiences.
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 why the Navy matters to Santa Fe. The program reaches more than 140 million people each year — about half the U.S. population.
For more information on 2021 Navy Weeks, visit http://outreach.navy.mil. For specific schedules and events for Santa Fe Navy Week, visit https://outreach.navy.mil/
NAVY WEEK UPDATE – NOVEMBER 8, 2021
| U.S. Navy sailors from the USS Santa Fe (SSN 763), a Los Angeles-class nuclear-powered submarine, will participate in Santa Fe Navy Week. The week-long event will take place from Nov. 8 – 14 in Santa Fe. |
| Mayor Alan Webber will be issuing a Proclamation for the week-long event. “The City of Santa Fe is honored to host the visiting Naval delegation, which will include the Commanding Officer and other representatives of the USS Santa Fe. New Mexico may be landlocked, but we feel connected and grateful to all who serve and have served in the Navy. It will be my pleasure to issue a Proclamation in recognition of this visit. Santa Fe salutes the Navy!” Mayor Webber said. |
| Mayor Webber will issue the Proclamation today (Monday, Nov. 8) at 11 a.m. MST at the City of Santa Fe. Rear Admiral Chris Engdahl, commander, Expeditionary Strike Group Seven and members of the USS Santa Fe will receive the Proclamation from Mayor Webber. |
| Throughout the week, the USS Santa Fe and other Navy assets will celebrate Navy Week in the vessel’s namesake city, giving the civilians of Santa Fe the opportunity to learn about the Navy, its people and its importance to national security and prosperity. |
| “What every crew member does have, is a tie to Santa Fe . . . I expect the crew to walk a little taller, hold their chins a little higher when they hear about the support we receive here. At the same time, I expect the crew to care just a little bit more, to do just a little bit better, in the effort to never let the city or people down, nor bring dishonor to the name Santa Fe,” said Cmdr. Matthew Pianetta, commanding officer, USS Santa Fe. |
| The USS Santa Fe Committee, which is part of the Navy League New Mexico Council, welcomes USS Santa Fe sailors to the city of Santa Fe. The committee supports the crew of the USS Santa Fe through fundraising and donations to send culinary care packages to the submarine and bring sailors to Santa Fe every few years. |
| “Local students, parents, and veterans can see sailors who honorably represent their city across the globe standing tall on our own streets … [The Navy] is made up of men and women who have a connection to their namesake cities and everyone can take pride in that,” said USS Santa Fe Committee Chairman Ron Olexsak. |
| This will be the first in-person Navy Week in the city of Santa Fe since the start of the outreach program in 2005. Navy Weeks are the service’s signature outreach program and are coordinated by the Navy Office of Community Outreach (NAVCO). |
