NAVAL STATION NORFOLK, Va. — The first Black female commanding officer at Naval Station Norfolk was sworn in on Friday.
Captain Janet Days will assume the duties as Naval Station (NAVSTA) Norfolk’s 51st Commanding Officer, according to a press release.
Captain David Dees will be relieved of his duties during a change of command ceremony on Friday. Dees will then assume duties as the Chief of Staff for Commander, Navy Region Mid-Atlantic.
& so it begins. Captain Janet Days is one step closer, literally, to a new future! Capt. Days will relieve Captain David Dees, the 50th Commanding Officer of @NAV_STA_NORFOLK @USFleetForces @CNRMA @USNavy https://t.co/JeHO1Ur2Um via @WTKR3 pic.twitter.com/rasiAk0Saq
— Erin Miller (@Emiller_reports) February 3, 2023
Previously, Days was assigned as an Executive Officer at Naval Station Norfolk.
While Days is a native of Chicago, she does have ties to Hampton Roads. She graduated summa cum laude from Old Dominion University in 1999 with a Bachelor of Science in Business and received her commission through Naval ROTC via the Enlisted Commissioning Program. She holds a Master of Business Administration from the Naval Postgraduate School and concurrently earned the Naval War College command and staff diploma. She is also a graduate of Joint and Combined Warfighting School at Joint Forces Staff College and is a qualified joint specialty officer.
Days’ sea assignments include tours aboard USS Simon Lake (AS 33) homeported at La Maddalena, Italy; USS Mahan (DDG 72); and USS Forrest Sherman (DDG 98) as engineer officer, completing two deployments, one to the U.S. Central Command (USCENTCOM) area of responsibility (AOR) to conduct theater security cooperation and a subsequent deployment to the U.S. Southern Command AOR to conduct counter-narcotics operations. Days served as the Destroyer Squadron 28 material officer (N4) and staff director embarked aboard USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69), where she completed two deployments to the USCENTCOM AOR in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. During her tour as executive officer and commanding officer of USS McFaul (DDG 74), she deployed independently to the U.S. 6th and 5th Fleet AORs.
Ashore, Days was assigned to the Joint Staff, J7 joint and coalition warfighting directorate as a military analyst and observer trainer augment to the deployable training team; she also deployed to Kabul, Afghanistan as the Joint Staff, J7 liaison officer to the International Security Assistance Force headquarters. Days completed a tour at Afloat Training Group Norfolk as a combat systems tactical mentor and is a graduate of the pilot Warfare Tactics Instructor / Integrated Air and Missile Defense course. As the Director of Maritime Warfare (N73) at Surface Warfare Officers School, she was responsible for training and development of all surface warfare department heads as well as providing instruction for prospective executive officers, commanding officers and major command students.
Following a tour as the executive officer of Surface Warfare Schools Command, in Newport, Rhode Island, Days assumed the position as executive officer, Naval Station Norfolk.
