‘This is home’: Trailblazing commander of Naval Station Norfolk to retire Friday

NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – The first Black person, as well as the first Black woman, to serve as Commanding Officer of Naval Station Norfolk retired from the Navy Friday after 37 years of service.

The CO’s office includes 6,000 acres, 13 piers, 63 ships, an airfield, 188 aircraft and 67,000 military and civilian personnel. The farewells for Captain Days were fraught with emotion.

10 On Your Side first introduced you to Captain Janet Days last year, as she took the helm of the world’s largest naval base, which was built by the descendants of slaves. Captain Days made national headlines when she broke two glass ceilings at once.

“It took a couple of weeks for that to settle in, because as I met and came in contact and folks would come up and talk to me, when I talk about how they hold your hand and look you in the eye,” Captain Days said. “They all had stories.”

Captain Days said none of this could have been done without putting people first.

“As I reflect off of the last 18 months, it’s about connectedness,” Captain Days said. “It’s about creating a culture where there is openness and allowing the team to be vocal about the goods and the ads and the things that we can do. It’s about reestablishing the relationship with the city and the local municipalities, because I think that, that was missing.”

Captain Days said she will continue to work and serve the community of Hampton Roads after her retirement.

“My husband and I are going to stay here in Hampton Roads,” Captain Days said. “This is home, you know, out of my 30 plus years of serving in the military, I’ve spent over 20 here in Virginia. So this is absolutely home.”

The change of command ceremony is set for Friday morning, where Captain Matthew Schlarmann will assume duties as the commander of Naval Station Norfolk.

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