Navy Week will be celebrated during Utah State Fair in September

SALT LAKE CITY — Navy Week is coming in September to the Utah State Fair.

From Sept. 9 to 19, Navy Week will be in the Beehive State for the first time since 2007. Military brass selected Salt Lake City to be one of 20 cities hosting the 2010 iteration of Navy Week.

Naval presence at the Utah State Fair is considered the anchor event of Navy Week. However, sailors will also give presentations at schools, meet with politicians and visit the local Veterans Affairs hospital.

"We have these Navy Weeks to show people around the country where their tax dollars are going and show them what (the sailors) are doing out there in uniform and what they're doing in the Navy," said Lt. Bashon Mann, who is in charge of Salt Lake City's Navy Week. "There aren't any oceans immediately around Utah, so unless you're really paying attention to the news every day, you might not necessarily see your Navy in action.

"It behooves us as a service to actually go out and show people there are sailors out there, and they're doing the job of defending this country, and they're doing it 24/7."

The events of Salt Lake City Navy Week will include an authentic flight simulator, the Leap Frogs parachute demonstration team, Navy band concerts and exhibitions showcasing SEAL Desert Patrol Vehicles.

— Jamshid Ghazi Askar