The Casco Bay Council of the Navy League of the United States will host the 2025 Maine Navy Ball on Saturday, Oct. 4, at the St. John’s Community Center in Brunswick. The public is invited to join service members, veterans and retirees in celebrating a significant milestone, the U.S. Navy’s 250th birthday.
According to the Naval History and Heritage Command website at history.navy.mil, a resolution of the Continental Congress on Oct. 13, 1775, established what is now the U.S. Navy by calling for “a swift sailing vessel, to carry ten carriage guns, and a proportionable number of swivels, with eighty men, be fitted, with all possible dispatch, for a cruise of three months.” After the Revolutionary War, the U.S. Constitution empowered the new Congress “to provide and maintain a navy.”
For a maritime nation relying on the freedom of the seas to facilitate commerce with the rest of the world, the Founding Fathers clearly saw the need to create a navy capable of protecting American interests both at home and in the far reaches of the world.
Maine has had a long and storied relationship with the U.S. Navy, a relationship that has shaped what the state has become today. With various facilities stretching from Kittery to Winter Harbor, the impact, both economic and cultural, to Maine has been significant.
In the Midcoast, thousands of sailors passed through Brunswick Naval Air Station during its nearly seven decades of operation, and tens of thousands of Mainers have been employed by Bath Iron Works.
The Maine Navy Ball is an opportunity to share in some of the long-standing traditions the Navy incorporates into celebrating its birthday, and for the men and women who have worn the uniform of this country to come together. Additionally, recognizing the benefits Maine has received because of its close ties to the Navy, members of the community are also encouraged to attend.
The featured speaker this year will be Tom Rivers, acting deputy assistant secretary of the Navy, with additional remarks by Charles Krugh, president of General Dynamics Bath Iron Works. A buffet dinner will be catered by Cook’s Lobster & Ale House.
Attire for this milestone celebration is dinner dress blue jacket for service members and formal or business attire for civilians. Seating is limited. Tickets are on sale and are available strictly on a first-come, first-served basis.
For more information, please contact the Casco Bay Council of the Navy League of the United States at events@navyleaguemaine.org.
