It's Fleet Week in LA: Check out the event schedule

“This is a year-long planning event, and it’s really sort of our Super Bowl of events for supporting service members,” said USO Executive Director Charlene Downey this weekend in an interview with KNX’s Nataly Tavidian.

She said that service members will be treated to a mobile lounge with food, snacks, games and more in the Los Angeles area for Fleet Week. For decades, the Fleet Week tradition has brought maritime service members to major cities throughout the country.

This year is a special one for Los Angeles, Downey said. An aircraft carrier with around 3,000 people aboard is docked nearby for Fleet Week for the first time in more than 10 years.

Along the L.A. waterfront there are lots of free events to celebrate Fleet Week through Monday – a schedule is available HERE . For example, free public ship tours are running from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Attendees are asked to arrive early in case events reach max capacity.

“It makes you appreciate even more, what you do, when the public appreciates you,” said Downey, a former servicemember, of why Fleet Week is important.