The U.S. Navy is hosting Navy week through Sunday, August 31, in Springfield and Branson. It’s part of a nationwide outreach effort that includes performances, educational events and service projects.
Sailors have helped out at nonprofits, including Ozarks Food Harvest, the Drew Lewis Foundation and Habitat Restore.
One woman who came in for Navy Week is originally from Springfield. Cpt. Sarah Self-Kyler is the daughter of long-time Missouri State University GeoSciences Professor Dr. Burl Self. She graduated from Kickapoo High School in 1995 and attended the U.S. Naval Academy.
"I started driving ships. I was (on), you know, destroyers, so deployments through the Mediterranean. I was based in Norfolk, so deployments through the Mediterranean and down the Suez and in the Middle East. It was obviously...pre 9/11 and post 9/11 time," she said, "you know, started my career, really, my second deployment we were launching missiles into Baghdad."
Self-Kyler was stationed at the Pentagon for several years. She later served with the US Submarine Force and got to take a CNN crew to the Arctic. And she was on the last two deployments of one of the Navy’s most famous aircraft carriers, the USS Enterprise.
"To be a part of the decommissioning and inactivation of such a famous ship that served our Navy for 52 years was really exiting for me," she said.
Today, Self-Kyler is a Navy public affairs officer and has led PA response to Hurricane Dorian, the COVID-19 Pandemic, the 20th anniversary of the USS Cole bombing and numerous deployments and exercises, according to her biography.
The Warrior’s Journey Community Event will be held Thursday night, August 28, from 5:30 to 8:30 at 3555 N. Glenstone with a live performance by the U.S. Navy Band, local food trucks and fireworks.
Sailors will be part of the Branson Wings of Pride Air Show ceremony Friday night, August 29.
This year’s Navy Week holds special significance as it coincides with the U.S. Navy’s 250th birthday, according to the Navy.
Navy Week continues through Sunday. You can find a schedule of events at outreach.navy.mil.
