By Philip Walzer

She’s the commanding officer of Naval Station Norfolk. But Capt. Janet Days ’99 sometimes thinks of herself with a different title.

“I liken the job to being a mayor,” Days said during a recent visit to 91Ăâ·Ń°æ. That’s because the base “is comparable to a city,” 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, “women were not allowed to serve on combatant ships or submarines. To say we haven’t come a long way would be a misnomer.

“There’s not much you can’t do if you put your mind to it,” Days said.

“My responsibility is to create an environment where people love their jobs and want to come to work.” - Capt. Janet Days

Days graduated summa cum laude from Old Dominion with a bachelor’s 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’s stayed in the Navy for so long, she has a quick answer: “I love what I do, I love serving and I love sailors.”

In turn, Days said, “my responsibility is to create an environment where people love their jobs and want to come to work.”

She knows she can’t do that singlehandedly. “It’s not the Janet Days show,” she said. “I could not do it if I did not have an amazing team.”

Days also wants to strengthen connections between the Navy and the community. With the number of recruits declining, “we have to ask ourselves some tough questions,” she said. “How come young people do not want to serve?”

To help “reintroduce the community” 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 “the realm of the possible.”

Days added: “We also want to be good partners and encourage the people who come to the military to stay in this community.”

The event was in the Scholarship Lounge at S.B. Ballard Stadium. Before Days’ speech, Town-N-Gown announced the recipients of two grants:

  • The 91Ăâ·Ń°æ 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