(a) Ship visits. Requests for visits generally originate with civic groups desiring Navy participation in local events. Often, members of Congress endorse these requests, advising the Navy of their interest in a particular event. Because of the marked increase in requests for ship visits, and in order to give equal consideration to all requests, the Chief of Information has arranged for quarterly meetings of representatives from CHINFO, Commander, Navy Recruiting Command, Chief of Naval Operations and Chief of Legislative Affairs. Based on the importance of the event (nationally, regionally, or locally) location, and prospective audience, recommendations are consolidated and forwarded to the fleet commanders prior to their quarterly scheduling conferences.

(b) Visits to Naval activities—(1) Types of visits.

(i) General visits or Open House are occasions when a ship or station acts as host to the general public. These visits will be conducted in accordance with instructions issued by Fleet and Force Commanders, District Commandants, or other cognizant authority.

(ii) Casual visits are visits to ships or stations by individuals or specific groups, as differentiated from the general public. Details and procedures concerning these visits are a matter of command discretion.

(iii) Tours are occasions when a ship or station is host to a specific group on a scheduled date. Some of the larger shore commands also regularly schedule one or more sightseeing type tours daily during seasons when many vacationers ask to visit the command.

(2) General rules. Prior approval for general visiting or Open House at any time other than civic-sponsored public observances and official ceremonies for Armed Forces Day, memorial Day, Independence Day, and Veterans Day, and for observances in overseas areas of similar significant holidays, will be requested as follows: Fleet units visiting U.S. ports, from Senior Officer present Afloat; fleet units visiting foreign ports, from commander ordering the visit; shore stations and district vessels in the United States, from District Commandants; and overseas shore stations, from the naval area commander.

(c) Official functions.

(1) Navy units may be authorized by local commanding officers to participate in official government military and civic functions, except in the Washington DC area where OASD(PA) retains authority.

(2) Official government functions include those in which senior officials of the federal government are involved in the performance of their official duties.

(3) Official military functions include social activities held on military installations (or off, when it is certified that suitable facilities are not available on base), which are sponsored by the Navy, have as their principal purpose the promotion of esprit de corps, and are conducted primarily for active duty personnel and their guests.

(4) Official civic functions include such state, county or municipal events as inaugurals, dedications of public buildings and projects, and convening of legislative bodies and ceremonies for officially invited government visitors.

(5) Overseas, similar functions attended by comparable host-country officials in their official capacities might also be considered appropriate for Navy participation.

(d) A parade which is sponsored by the community as a whole (rather than by a single commercial venture) and held on a Sunday or holiday or at a time when shops are closed for business may be a public event for which participation could properly be authorized; representation by individual commercial ventures in such parades need not be a bar to Navy participation as long as the emphasis is planned and placed on the civic rather than commercial aspects. Such participation will be at no additional cost to the government.

(e) Fund-raising events.

(1) Navy support of fund-raising events must be limited to recognized, joint or other authorized campaigns. Navy support of fund-raising events or projects for a single cause, even though the cause is a member of one of the federated, joint or authorized campaigns, or donates in part to one of several of the recognized campaigns, is not authorized by Department of Defense.

(2) Navy support for a single-cause fund-raising event may be authorized if the event is:

(i) In support of Navy recruiting objectives;

(ii) Supported by a letter indicating the local United Way representative has no objection; and

(iii) Approved by the local Navy Commander as a single-cause charity which has broad local benefit.

[41 FR 29101, July 15, 1976, as amended at 44 FR 6391, Feb. 1, 1979]