The U.S. Navy is showcasing sailors this week in Indianapolis.
Indy is the seventh of 12 cities the Navy has selected this year for Navy Week, a weeklong public-relations mission to showcase the Navy's role in national defense.
The state fair will feature demonstrations by dive and parachute teams, and performances by the Navy Band. Sailors will also take a turn helping Habitat for Humanity with its house-building project at the fair.
Lieutenant Javan Rasnake says Navy divers will be giving daily demonstrations all week at the state fair.
“That one’s great for the kids, very kid-friendly,” Rasnake says. “There will be divers there outside of the tank who can interact with the kids and also divers inside of the tank. One of the popular activities is kids love to play tic-tac-toe with these guys so they can play tic-tac-toe with a diver inside the tank.”
With the exception of a visit to Rhode Island beginning on Memorial Day, none of the cities on the Navy's itinerary is on a seacoast, and most, like Indy, are in the nation's midsection.
Rasnake notes Indiana is home to one of the Navy's larger installations, the Naval Surface Warfare Center at Crane.
