GOODFELLOW AIR FORCE BASE, Texas -- The Event Center hosted the Navy Ball, which celebrated the Navy’s 242nd birthday, bringing all the branches together for an evening full of ceremony and long-lasting heritage at Goodfellow Air Force Base Oct. 6.
Focusing on traditions, the evening consisted of setting the Prisoner(s) of War/Missing in Action table, the posting of colors, singing of Anchors Aweigh, the toast and response, a speech from retired Master Chief Petty Officer Steven Chaney, and the cutting of the birthday cake.
Breaking customs, Lt. Cmdr. Christopher Allen, Center for Information Warfare Training Detachment Goodfellow officer in charge, joined the youngest and the oldest sailors present in the cutting of the cake. Allen, Cryptologic Technician Collection Seaman Madison Elliot, Center for Information Warfare Training Detachment Goodfellow trainee, and Chaney, cut the cake celebrating Allen’s third and final Navy Ball here at Goodfellow.
The United States Navy, founded Oct 13, 1775, is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest, most capable navy in the world, with the highest combined battle fleet tonnage. The U.S. Navy has the world's largest aircraft carrier fleet, with eleven in service, one in the reserve fleet, and two new carriers under construction. The service has 322,421 personnel on active duty and 107,577 in the Navy Reserve. It has 276 deployable combat vessels and more than 3,700 operational aircraft as of June 2017.