USS Constitution Sets Sail for 2024 CNO Chief Heritage Weeks Celebration

BOSTON – The USS Constitution is set to get underway for the 2024 Chief of Naval Operations’ Chief Petty Officer Heritage Training Weeks on Friday, September 20, at 10 a.m.

The ship will close to the public during the event. Joining the ship will be 120 Sailors who have been selected for promotion to chief petty officer.

These Sailors, alongside the USS Constitution crew, will sail in Boston Harbor. During the Heritage Weeks, over 220 newly selected chief petty officers will undergo training in 19th-century naval skills, including gun, pike, sailing, and musket drills. The goal is to develop meaningful leadership competencies.

For more than 20 years, Sailors advancing to chief petty officer have been living aboard “Old Ironsides” for a week, immersing themselves in naval heritage. A 21-gun salute will be held and can be viewed from Fort Independence on Castle Island at around 11:30 a.m.

The USS Constitution will also fire a 17-gun salute as it passes U.S. Coast Guard Sector Boston, located at the former site of Edmund Hartt’s Shipyard, where the ship was originally built and launched on October 21, 1797.

The entire cruise will be visible from several locations, including the Boston Harborwalk, Castle Island, and the Charlestown Navy Yard. Public visitation hours for the USS Constitution are Tuesday to Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

As the world’s oldest commissioned warship afloat and America’s Ship of State, the USS Constitution has a storied history. She played a critical role during the Barbary Wars and the War of 1812, defending sea lanes from 1797 to 1855.