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As Maryland Fleet Week started Wednesday, 11 News took to the air and sea for an exciting adventure and to meet the people who make it all possible.

| LINKS: Fleet Week website | Events | Fleets and vessels | About | FAQ

It's not every day civilians get a bird's eye view of the Chesapeake Bay and Patapsco River from a Navy Seahawk helicopter. The Navy took 11 News on a behind-the-scenes look at its operations from the sea and sky as Maryland Fleet Week gets underway with flyovers, ships from around the world and festivals.

The helicopter landed on the 610-foot USS Carter Hall, whose sailors help with humanitarian efforts and evacuations.

"Our job is to take Marines, combat forces, take them from sea, put them on shore," said Brad Fancher, the USS Carter Hall's commanding officer.

Within the past year, the USS Carter Hall and its sailors helped with evacuations in Afghanistan.

"Day to day on this ship is

we are pumping, everything is going," Gunner's Mate 1st. Class Yasmin Rosa said.

More than 300 sailors serve aboard the USS Carter Hall. When Marines embark, it carries more than 600 people, all who have a variety of different jobs.

"On the ship, I serve as the lead culinary specialist," said Senior Chief Stacey Washington.

"I am in charge of the electronic shop," Petty Ofc. 1st. Class Michael Maschek said.

Each person on the job has their own story, their own reason why they chose to serve.

"Just love for my country," Marine Lance Cpl. James Smith said.

"I joined the Navy for structure. I am from a small town in Florida, and I wanted to travel the world," Rosa said.

"I picked Navy because I couldn't swim, instead of going to the Air Force," Retail Spc. Jamye Francis said.

| RELATED: After 4-year absence 'Fleet Week' returns to Baltimore

During Maryland Fleet Week, people will get to hear the stories and see the warship sailors call home.

For Baltimore natives Francis and Washington, Fleet Week is a chance to come home and reunite with family.

"A lot of (my relatives) haven't been able to see the inside of any of the ships I've been stationed on," Francis said.

"I'm going to see my father today. We are going to get some snowballs and some crabcakes and definitely just have a good time," Washington said. "I'm very honored that the city would have me and my crew."

The USS Carter Hall will be in Port Covington for all of Fleet Week.

Ships began arriving in Baltimore on Sept. 7 and will include U.S., British and Canadian naval ships, U.S. Coast Guard vessels, National Oceanic and Atmospheric and Army Corps of Engineers working vessels, the USS John Brown and the Savannah.

The fleets will also include traditional sailing ships like the Danish sail-training tall ship Danmark. They will be docked at various locations around Baltimore, including the Inner Harbor, Fells Point, Under Armour Pier Locus Point and Port Covington.

Ship tours will be available from Sept. 8 to 12 from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.

USS Minneapolis Saint-Paul (LCS 21): The U.S. Navy commissioned its newest littoral combat ship USS MINNEAPOLIS-SAINT PAUL on May 21. She is a fast, agile, mission-focused platform designed for operation in near-shore environments, yet capable of open-ocean operation. She is designed to defeat asymmetric "anti-access" threats and is capable of supporting forward presence, maritime security, sea control and deterrence. Her ship's motto is "I will either find a way or make one." (Free Tour)

Tall Ship Danmark (Denmark): Built in 1933, DANMARK is a steel-hulled, three-masted fully-rigged ship. She serves as a training vessel for young people seeking careers at sea. She is operated by the Maritime Training and Education Centre, MARTEC, in Frederikshavn, Denmark. Besides training in maritime English, engineering, safety, seamanship, firefighting and maritime techniques, life on board influences the trainees' ways of thinking and their social skills. (Free Tour)

USS Constellation (Historic Ships in Baltimore): The USS CONSTELLATION, a National Historic Landmark, is a sloop-of-war, the last sail-only warship designed and built by the United States Navy. She was built in 1854, using a small amount of material salvaged from the frigate USS Constellation, which had been disassembled the year before. (Admission Fee)

HMCS Moncton (M708, Canada): A Kingston-class coastal defense vessel that has served in the Canadian Forces since 1998. MONCTON is the ninth ship of her class. She is the second vessel to use the designation Moncton. The ship is assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and is homeported at Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada. (Free Tour)

US Light Ship Chesapeake/USS Torsk (Historic Ships in Baltimore): Commissioned for the U.S. Navy on Dec. 16, 1944, the USS TORSK was the only submarine out of its Tench Class fleet of 10 to see service during World War II. More than 80 sailors lived aboard Torsk. After numerous war patrols and duties as a training boat after the war, the TORSK arrived in Baltimore to serve as a museum and memorial in 1972. (Admission Fee)

USCGC 37 (Historic Ships in Baltimore): The U.S Coast Guard Cutter (USCGC) 37, a National Historic Landmark, is one of the famed Secretary of the Treasury Class Coast Guard cutters built in the mid-1930s. Commissioned in 1936 as USCGC TANEY, Cutter 37 was designed for law enforcement missions, search and rescue and maritime patrol. She is notable as the last warship afloat that fought in the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Admission Fee)

USNS Newport (T-EPF 12): Operated by the U.S. Navy's Military Sealift Command, NEWPORT is a Spearhead-class high-speed catamaran. She is designed to operate in shallow waterways as a versatile, non-combatant, high-speed transport for troops, military vehicles and equipment. Her missions includes overseas contingency operations, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, support of special operations forces, theater security cooperation activities and emerging joint sea-basing concepts. (Free Tour)

USCGC James Rankin (WLM 555): Named after lighthouse keepers, the U.S. Coast Guard commissioned a new "Keeper" class of coastal buoy tenders in the 1990s. With a home port at the nearby Coast Guard Yard in Curtis Bay, her mission includes aids to navigation (ATON) support for the Chesapeake Region. Each spring, she deploys the star-spangled Francis Scott Key buoy, marking the general area where British forces commenced bombardment of Fort McHenry during the War of 1812. (Free Tour)

USNA Yard Patrol Craft (YP): The mission of the Midshipmen-run Yard Patrol Squadron (YPRON) is to provide the Brigade opportunities to enhance their leadership, seamanship and navigation skills in a safe and controlled learning environment that mimics that of the Fleet. Midshipman crews practice onboard Yard Patrol Craft (YPs) and execute out-of-area movement orders to ports on the Eastern Seaboard. (Free Tour)

HMCS Glace Bay (M701, Canada): Sister ship to HMCS Moncton, GLACE BAY is a Kingston-class coastal defense vessel that has served in the Canadian Forces and Royal Canadian Navy since 1996. She is the second ship of her class and second vessel to use the name designation. She is assigned to Maritime Forces Atlantic (MARLANT) and is homeported at CFB Halifax, Nova Scotia. She has participated in many military and defense exercises worldwide. (Free Tour)

HMS Richmond (F 239, Great Britain): RICHMOND is the seventh Royal Navy ship to proudly bear the name. She enjoys strong affiliations in both Richmond upon Thames (Southwest London) and Richmond, North Yorkshire, England. Classified as a Type 23 frigate, she recently spent time in the Arctic working alongside NATO allies during the largest military exercises in the region in over 30 years. Her ship’s motto is A Deo et Rege (From God and the King). (Free Tour)

USS Carter Hall (LSD 50): Classified as a Dock Landing Ship, CARTER HALL's mission is to transport Marine personnel, landing craft, vehicles and cargo; land them ashore using landing craft and helicopters in support of military and humanitarian assistance operations; and support and withdraw them as necessary. She acts as an invaluable component to a joint Navy-Marine expeditionary unit (ARG/MEU), one of which is forward deployed at all times to quickly respond to any potential developing crisis. (Free Tour)

USACE Reynolds: The REYNOLDS is a steel debris vessel named after John Reynolds, a former Chief of Operations for the Baltimore District, Corps of Engineers. Built in 1992 in Pensacola, Florida, she patrols the waters of the Baltimore Harbor and Patapsco River for debris that could be hazardous to navigation. Equipped with a hydraulic front-end loader with a mesh basket, her crew can pick debris directly out of the water. In support of the USACE Clean Energy Initiative, she runs on B-99 bio-diesel. (Free Tour)

USACE Catlett: CATLETT is a 61-foot survey vessel christened into the fleet in 2017 and named after former hydrographic surveyor Harold Catlett. She actively supports the Baltimore District's Navigation Branch Operations in construction and maintenance of more than 100 Federal navigation projects on the Chesapeake Bay and its tributaries, including a deep draft survey mission in a 50-foot main shipping channel. (Free Tour)

New this year, there will be a series of flyovers of modern and historic aircraft from Sept. 9 to Sept. 11 over the Inner Harbor.

The celebration offers three festivals featuring live performances, exhibitors, food, hands-on children's activities, military displays and more at Fleet Week Festival.

WBAL Maryland Fleet Week's 3 locations to bring fleets, flyovers, festivals to Baltimore After 4-year absence 'Fleet Week' returns to Baltimore Get the WBAL-TV app; Sign up for email alerts

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