Cincinnati is hosting Navy Week this week, bringing sailors from across the country — including some who serve aboard the current USS Cincinnati — for community events and outreach.
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Commander Deborah Kelleyduke, who leads Navy Reserve Cincinnati, said the week is an opportunity to raise awareness about the Navy's presence in the region.
"It's very hard to provide that presence, as you know, in the city of Cincinnati. Not many people know that the Navy is here, but to showcase that and provide the opportunities of what the Navy has, it can offer as a STEM program or an occupation that people may not even understand," Kelleyduke said.
Kelleyduke's own path to the Navy began with a search for opportunity. She joined in 1993 on the enlisted side as a corpsman, coming from a military family.
"Coming from a military family, my idea of education or employment was I didn't know what I wanted to do when I started out, and the Navy was a prime opportunity to get education," Kelleyduke said.
Over her career, she has served in medical operations, recruiting, manpower programs and leadership roles across the country. She now leads Navy Reserve Cincinnati.
Kelleyduke described the Cincinnati reserve unit's mission as directly tied to supporting active duty sailors.
"The mission here is to support the active duty mission. So we train, provide administrative support, whether medically or physically for our sailors to gain knowledge, support the active duty in their rated profession," Kelleyduke said.
While many associate the Navy with coastal cities and aircraft carriers, Kelleyduke said Cincinnati's inland location is an asset, not a limitation.
"So the biggest advantage of us being in Cincinnati is the community in which these sailors live. These sailors are not only working in the civilian capacity in their prime fields, whether it's engineering or medical, but then they're providing that experience back to the Navy," Kelleyduke said.
This year's Navy Week also coincides with two significant national milestones: America's 250th anniversary and the 25th anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks. Kelleyduke said those occasions underscore the Navy's enduring mission.
"The United States has entrusted us with that protection and the strength and capacity that the Navy has to offer, and it's just nice to have that ability to showcase that and give that back to the American public," Kelleyduke said.
