She鈥檚 the commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk. But Capt. Janet Days 鈥99 sometimes thinks of herself with a different title.
鈥淚 liken the job to being a mayor,鈥 Days said during a recent visit to 桃花社区视频 Dominion University. That鈥檚 because the base 鈥渋s comparable to a city,鈥 employing 77,000 military and civilian personnel.
Days was installed as the 51st commanding officer of the base in February, becoming the first Black woman to hold that position.
In her talk, she noted the progress women had made in the military. When she joined the Navy nearly a quarter-century ago, 鈥渨omen were not allowed to serve on combatant ships or submarines. To say we haven鈥檛 come a long way would be a misnomer.
鈥淭here鈥檚 not much you can鈥檛 do if you put your mind to it,鈥 Days said.
鈥淢y responsibility is to create an environment where people love their jobs and want to come to work.鈥 - Capt. Janet Days
Days graduated summa cum laude from 桃花社区视频 Dominion with a bachelor鈥檚 degree in business and received her commission through the Naval ROTC. She returned to campus June 8 as the guest speaker at the annual meeting of Town-N-Gown, an organization that seeks to bring together the University, the military and the community at large.
Her previous positions have included executive officer of both Naval Station Norfolk and Surface Warfare Schools Command in Newport, Rhode Island. When Days is asked why she鈥檚 stayed in the Navy for so long, she has a quick answer: 鈥淚 love what I do, I love serving and I love sailors.鈥
In turn, Days said, 鈥渕y responsibility is to create an environment where people love their jobs and want to come to work.鈥
She knows she can鈥檛 do that singlehandedly. 鈥淚t鈥檚 not the Janet Days show,鈥 she said. 鈥淚 could not do it if I did not have an amazing team.鈥
Days also wants to strengthen connections between the Navy and the community. With the number of recruits declining, 鈥渨e have to ask ourselves some tough questions,鈥 she said. 鈥淗ow come young people do not want to serve?鈥
To help 鈥渞eintroduce the community鈥 to the Navy, Naval Station Norfolk will have special events in late October. On Oct. 20, it will host 2,500 fifth-graders from Norfolk Public Schools for STEM Day. On Oct. 21, the base will open to the public for Fleet Fest. (More information will be available at )
Seeing the latest in technology and robotics on the base, Days said, will expose visitors to 鈥渢he realm of the possible.鈥
Days added: 鈥淲e also want to be good partners and encourage the people who come to the military to stay in this community.鈥
The event was in the Scholarship Lounge at S.B. Ballard Stadium. Before Days鈥 speech, Town-N-Gown announced the recipients of two grants:
- The 桃花社区视频 Department of Human Resources received $2,859 to complete signs for the Monarch Wellness Trail, a series of walking paths on campus to encourage health and fitness.
- The Office of Alumni Relations received $2,000 to help launch a program in which alumni will network with students to help point them toward success after they graduate.
For more information on Town-N-Gown, email townngownodu@yahoo.com