Santa Barbara Welcomes Crew of USS Halsey for the Weekend
http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/090612_uss_halsey_welcomed_in_santa_barbara/
By Lara Cooper, Noozhawk Staff Writer | @laraanncooper
Navy destroyer will be open for tours, with the public invited to an 'Honor and Remember' reception and other events
Hundreds of crew members from the USS Halsey, a U.S. Navy destroyer, will get a chance to enjoy Santa Barbara’s shores this weekend while the public is invited to tour their ship.
The Santa Barbara Navy League has planned activities for the crew during their stay in the city, and President Patricia Westberg said the group was honored to host the visiting sailors.
“The commanding officer and his crew are very excited about having a port call in Santa Barbara, and look forward to meeting our community members through a series of planned events and liberty in town,” she said.
The ship will be in Santa Barbara’s waters until Monday.
The ship is part of a group of guided-missile destroyers, the most powerful destroyer in the U.S. Navy fleet. It conducts sustained combat operations at sea, and is capable of fighting air, surface and subsurface battles simultaneously.
Ship tours will be open to the public from 11 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Saturday and from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Sunday.
The tour is free but advanced reservations are required, and can be made by calling 805.963.3564 or online.
A host of events are planned for the crew, including a softball game between the Halsey crew and the Santa Barbara police and fire departments, which will be held at Pershing Field from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday. That event is also free and open to the public.
Also on Saturday, the ship’s commanding officer, Cmdr. Mike Weeldreyer, and sailors will visit seniors at Villa Santa Barbara, 227 E. Anapamu St., for lunch and social time with the residents. Though the lunch is private, the public is welcome to attend the free meet-and-greet starting at 12:30 p.m.
An “Honor and Remember” reception will be held from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. Saturday, and the public is invited to join the ship’s men and women at a cocktail reception on the rooftop terrace of the Reagan Ranch Center. Tickets can be purchased online by clicking here.
— Noozhawk staff writer Lara Cooper can be reached at .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address). Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
http://www.noozhawk.com/noozhawk/article/090612_uss_halsey_welcomed_in_santa_barbara/