Fleet Week in New York City
NEW YORK (May 21, 2008) Sailors and Marines man the rails of the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3) during the parade of ships parade of ships on the opening day of Fleet Week New York 2008. More than 4,000 Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen will participate in various community relations projects and make a port call to New York City. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Christopher Lange
NEW YORK (May 21, 2008) The guided-missile cruiser USS Leyete Gulf (CG 55) steams under the Verrazano Narrows Bridge during the parade of ships on the opening day of Fleet Week New York 2008. More than 4,000 Sailors, Marines, and Coast Guardsmen will participate in various community relations projects and make a port call to New York City. U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jonathan Snyder
“Everyone loves to go to Fleet Week,” a communications officer on the USS Leyte Gulf, Ensign Lance Oberlin, 29, said. This is the second Fleet Week for the Toledo, Ohio, native, who also visited in 2003. “The last time I was here, we got pulled off the street and were given a tour of the Stock Exchange, totally unplanned,” he said. “Some guys who work there used to be in the service, so they brought us in and showed us around.”
During their free time, sailors plan to sightsee, experience the city’s restaurants and nightlife, and visit with friends and family. “We want to go see ground zero,” an explosives ordnance disposal petty officer, first class, Patrick Flanigan, who has just returned from Iraq, said. This is the first time in New York City for the 25-year-old, who is originally from Rochester, Wash.
Some 3,000 sailors and Marines disembarked from the ships during the eight-day event that includes public tours and a variety of aerial and simulated combat technique demonstrations by Marine Corps units.
A decade ago, as many as a dozen ships from several nations took part in Fleet Week, but the size of the assemblage has diminished in recent years. The last time it included a full-size aircraft carrier was in 2005, when the USS John F. Kennedy made its final appearance before being retired.
New York City policy bars nuclear-powered craft from the harbor, effectively denying port calls by the Navy’s newer fleet carriers.
On Wednesday, the parade of ships passed the Verrazano Narrows Bridge, proceeded north through New York Harbor and the Hudson River, and to the George Washington Bridge.
As the parade passed the World Trade Center site each ship rendered honors in memory of the sacrifices made on Sept. 11, 2001.
Afterwards, the ships docked at Manhattan’s Pier 86 and Pier 88 and Staten Island’s Stapleton Pier.
The ships included were:
Guided-missile cruisers Leyte Gulf (CG 55) and USS Monterey (CG 61), Canadian frigate HMCS Toronto, US Coast Guard ship Ida Lewis, guided-missile destroyer USS Nitze (DDG 94), Canadian frigate HMCS St. Johns, guided-missile destroyer USS The Sullivans (DDG 68), Canadian auxiliary oil replenishment vessel HMCS Preserver, and the amphibious assault ship USS Kearsarge (LHD 3).
Kearsarge and Leyte Gulf docked in Manhattan, while Monterey, The Sullivans, and Nitze docked at Staten Island.
The Navy flyovers were conducted by Strike Fighter Squadrons VFA-143 and VFA- 211 out of NAS Oceana Virginia.
