BELLE ISLE (WWJ) - The U.S. Navy put their elite parachute team on display with an late morning jump over the Detroit River on Thursday to celebrate Detroit Navy Week.
Chief Petty Officer Brian McNeal expressed his excitement to be in the Motor City with WWJ's Terrance Vails, saying the weeklong festivities help residents who are not as familiar with the Navy to learn about what sailors do.
"We bring the Navy to your backyard to show your Navy to you and demonstrate our capabilities and interact with the people in Detroit," McNeal said.
The celebrations began on July 11 and conclude on the 17 with the U.S. Navy Flight Demonstration Squadron, The Blue Angels, performance at the Thunder Over Michigan Airshow at Willow Run.
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McNeal said sailors have been working with the community since Monday alongside organizations such as Gleaners Food Bank, Forgotten Harvest, and Habitat for Humanity Detroit.
Members of the Navy Band have also been performing in locations across Metro Detroit, including the Detroit Zoo and Greenfield Village.
Upcoming concerts can be found here.
McNeal said the Navy's parachute team performance is always a crowd-pleaser.
"The jumps are eye-catching," McNeal said. "You just don't see guys coming out in parachutes everyday.."
The LEAP FROGS -- which consists of active-duty Navy SEALs, Special Warfare Combatant-craft Crewmen (SWCC) and support personnel -- was established in 1969 with "the mission to demonstrate Navy excellence throughout the United States."
Detroit Navy Week is one of 13 Navy Weeks scheduled through the United States, officials said. The weeklong celebration started in 2005 as a way to bring "America's Navy closer to the people it protects."
"Each year, the program reaches more than 140 million people -- about half the U.S. population," the Navy added.
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