Fleet Week Gets Underway As Ships Arrive In NYC

The “Parade of Ships” brought a small armada into New York Harbor Wednesday (5/23) and thousands of sailors onto city streets.

Fleet Week is a seven day shore leave filled with military exhibitions.

The nautical parade is visible from parks and waterside overlooks from Brooklyn and Staten Island to just south of the George Washington Bridge.

The Pentagon has staged the event almost every year since 1984 to offer civilians a firsthand look at America’s floating military might. It also gives people a chance to meet some of the men and women who make up the seaborne military.

The ‘Parade of Ships’ includes 14 Navy and Coast Guard ships to New York City and Long Island, including the Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyer USS Mitscher, and the USS Arlington, an amphibious transport dock that was named in commemoration of the 9/11 terror attack on the Pentagon.

Ships will dock at piers in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Staten Island, and will offer onboard tours daily from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.