Sailors and Marines stand at parade rest on the flight deck of the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship as it pulls into the port of Miami for Fleet Week on Sunday, May 5, 2024. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

MIAMI — Hundreds of sailors and Marines held tightly in parade rest formation, lining the massive flight deck of the USS Bataan as it cruised toward Miami on Sunday evening, eliciting cheers from onlookers on nearby boats and along the causeway leading into the city’s port.

Car horns honked and a chant of “U.S.A., U.S.A., U.S.A.,” broke out from a cruise ship docked at a port terminal as the amphibious assault ship carried more than a thousand sailors and 400 Marines into the port for the Navy’s first ever Fleet Week in Miami. Excited troops aboard the nearly 850-foot ship said they were looking forward to visiting the city’s famous beaches, trying its restaurants and exploring its bars during the weeklong festivities.

“Food, man. I can’t wait to check out the food here,” said Lance Cpl. Jakie Wu, an infantry Marine stationed at Camp Lejeune, N.C., when he was asked what he was looking forward to in Miami as the ship steamed toward the port. “Restaurants, definitely. Probably hit the beaches. We’re just going to take it one step at a time and check this city out.”

Infantry Marines Cpl. James Rein, left, and Lance Cpl. Jakie Wu, both with 2nd Battalion, 2nd Marines, arrived at Fleet Week in Miami on Sunday, May 5, 2024, aboard the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

The Bataan — back recently from a more than eight-month deployment that took it to the Mediterranean Sea and into the Middle East — was one of five ships participating in Fleet Week. The others include the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier, which will soon deploy to the Middle East, the USS Leyte Gulf and USS Normandy guided-missile cruisers, and the Coast Guard cutter Seneca.

Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro said Monday that the idea to bring a Fleet Week to Miami was launched over several dinners with Miami-Dade County Mayor Daniella Levine Cava in recent years. The city, the Navy’s top civilian leader noted, holds a special place for him as a Cuban native who arrived in Miami as a refugee when he was a child before moving to New York.

Sailors and Marines stand along the flight deck of the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship as it pulls into the port of Miami for Fleet Week on Sunday, May 5, 2024. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Sailors aboard the USS Bataan, an amphibious assault ship, look out at the USS Harry S. Truman aircraft carrier as the Bataan pulls into the port of Miami for Fleet Week on Sunday, May 5, 2024. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Bringing a Fleet Week to Miami — a move from the nearby Fort Lauderdale area, which had hosted a Fleet Week for decades — should help bolster the military’s connection to the city, Del Toro said. While Miami hosts several military units, including U.S. Southern Command, which oversees military operations in Central and South American and the Caribbean Sea, officials said the military could improve recruiting in the city.

“We’re celebrating a new tradition of service in this great city of Miami-Dade County with Fleet Week Miami,” Del Toro said. “Thousands of sailors, Marines, Coast Guard men and women and civilian employees will take part in events across greater Miami-Dade area, engaging with the American public we serve and stand ready to share their stories and motivation for their careers in public service.”

Levine Cava said Monday that she was impressed with the number of military troops she had already seen enjoying her city since the ships pulled into the port late Sunday and early Monday. She said the city and county had spent about a year preparing for the event, which she hoped would spawn interest in the Miami area’s population in military service from the troops visiting.

“What is really warming my heart is the excitement of our sailors and Marines … in this trip, and the understanding that this is a two-way recruitment,” the mayor said. “This is a recruitment for people to serve. And it’s a recruitment for our beautiful part of the world — we call it paradise, and it’s just so exciting to see [the troops’] eagerness to explore.”

A sailor and a Marine look out over Miami beach from the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship as it pulls into the port of Miami for Fleet Week on Sunday, May 5, 2024. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Sailors aboard the USS Bataan amphibious assault ship on May 5, 2024, as the ship pulls into the Miami port for Fleet Week. (Corey Dickstein/Stars and Stripes)

Fleet Week will include dozens of events throughout the week, including performances by military bands, a naturalization ceremony for service members becoming U.S. citizens, visits to local schools by troops including Navy SEALs, a beach Olympics event and a 5K run. Several of the ships visiting Miami will be open to the public for tours throughout the week, the Navy said.

By Monday evening, Navy sailors in their dress white uniforms and Marines in their dress blues had scattered across downtown Miami taking in the city’s tropical atmosphere.

For most of the troops, it was a first time visit to Miami, said Marine Col. David Ickles, the commander of Camp Lejeune’s 10th Marine Regiment, who was in charge of all the Marines participating in Fleet Week.

“We have a lot of fun activities for these Marines and sailors,” Ickles said. “It’s an exciting opportunity. I think they’re pretty excited to be here.”

Ickles said he hoped the people of Miami would find some inspiration in the service members visiting their city.

“I just hope as they interact with these Marines and sailors who are supporting Fleet Week that they truly get an appreciation for how amazing these young men and women who have stepped forward to answer the call to serve are,” he said. “We have people from all over the country, every walk of life, that come together and form a team, and it’s an amazing team.”