More than "warships"

As State Fairgrounds president Howard "Max" Mosner steps out of a Blue Angel jet simulator he shrugs his shoulders, unaffected by the light jostling and dipping of the ride.

"It's not like my landing last week, let me tell you," said Mosner speaking about his "once in a lifetime opportunity" of landing on the USS George H.W. Bush by way of a C-2 Greyhound Twin Engine Turbo plane.

"It was a little more severe than I anticipated … We went from 105 m.p.h.  to zero in two seconds," he said.

Mosner's ride, which included only about 20 other people, was the first pairing the State Fair and US Navy, shared.  That is until this past week when it's  been the first thing Mosner talks about when pressed about what's new at the fair this year.

At the South entrance to the Timonium Fairgrounds the US Navy are the first thing fairgoers see, aside from the cattle wash.

Cadets and officers clad in uniform greet attendees with attractions like the Blue Angel jet simulator, video game station, pull-up bar, sit-up mat and Immerse-a-dome mock Navy mission – all of which coincides with Navy Week in Baltimore.

Their presence at the fair is meant to "raise awareness" of the Navy and its activities away from the battlefield, according to spokesman Nick Kaylor.

The Navy is attempting to rebrand itself, which is most indicative of its motto changing from "Accelerate Your Life" to "A Global Force for Good."

"Navy Week is a way to raise awareness that we're more than just warships," said Kaylor. "

In the Baltimore region Naval officers and cadets are engaged in a variety of community service activities, including rebuilding an entire neighborhood on Duncan Street and serving at the soup kitchen Our Daily Bread.

The change in attitude hasn't gone unrecognized to people like Mosner who has worked with the fair for decades.

"The military is not like it was 30 years ago. Back then the military was not fashionable," said Mosner. "People for the most part, are very patriotic and they see somebody in uniform with an exhibit and they'll go over and talk to them. When they find out that they're intelligent young people it just a good relationship to let people know what it's all about."

At the site interested passersby can play SOCOM, a mature rated video game, or they can experience a first and third person account of a mock land, air and sea Naval mission that ends with blowing up an enemy target – both of which do little to curb the aggressive perception of the Navy.

"Don't get me wrong. That's a very important part of why we're here," said Kaylor.

"But we want to show people our faces and show them another side of what we can do."

That's when Jeffery Enslin, 20, walked over and began talking to one of the cadets who explained about the new mission of the Navy. Enslin, a part-time lifeguard, said he has a life goal of performing search and rescue wherever he could.

He was challenged to complete a standard Navy training exercise: timed push-ups.

"I did all right. I'm just really tired today," said Enslin who claimed he had "just worked out" that morning.

With interest in the Navy now peaked, Enslin shook the officer's hand, and said he was leaving to go back to work.

"I want to do search and rescue wherever I can. I know I can handle the physical side of the Navy so that might be an option, now," he said.