U.S. Naval War College highlights Rhode Island, one of 13 original colonies, as part of ongoing America 250 celebration
PROVIDENCE, Rhode Island – U.S. Naval War College President Darryl Walker represented the Navy in a series of engagements around Rhode Island state capital Providence as part of the country’s ongoing America 250 celebration, Sept. 22-23, 2026.
The Navy Office of Community Outreach is highlighting each of America’s original 13 colonies with multiple days of executive engagements as part of the Navy’s commemoration of the country’s semiquincentennial.
“It's been a tremendous honor to represent the U.S. Naval War College and the U.S. Navy during this series of important engagements, highlighting America's 250th birthday and the role of Rhode Island as one of the original 13 colonies,” said Walker. “Chartered in 1884 and building upon an already strong Navy tradition here, the war college is a proud part of Rhode Island's maritime history and the state’s truly foundational place in the establishment and ascendance of our nation.”
Rhode Island was the first colony to call for the creation of a Continental Congress, in 1774, and established the first colonial navy, in 1775, when the nascent force’s armed ships captured a British tender in Narragansett Bay in what is described as the first naval battle of the American Revolution.
A Rhode Island native would go on to become the commander-in-chief of the Continental Navy in the ensuing war for independence, and the state was temporarily home to the U.S. Naval Academy during the Civil War several decades later.
The U.S. Navy authorized the establishment of an experimental torpedo station at nearby Goat Island in 1869 and located its first recruit training station on Coasters Harbor Island in 1883.
Officially established one year later, with its first permanent building constructed in 1892, the war college celebrated its 140th anniversary in 2024.
During his series of America 250 engagements, Walker visited the veteran workforce of a Providence-based corporation, delivered remarks to a service organization and meeting of business leaders, and engaged with the Rhode Island Wing of the Civil Air Patrol and Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I was humbled and motivated to meet so many hard-working and dedicated people from so many different walks of life as I traveled in and around the state capital,” he said. “The people of Rhode Island have made this place great throughout its storied history and continue to make it great today.”
Walker also led a war college contingent that participated in July’s International Naval Review (INR) 250. Hosted in the Port of New York and New Jersey, INR 250 was the Navy’s pinnacle event in support of the yearlong America 250 birthday celebration and the largest international maritime event in U.S. history, involving 55 participating nations, 30 U.S. and international naval ships, 45 tall ships, nearly 200 aircraft and 20,000 uniformed military personnel.
The Naval War College informs today’s decision-makers and educates tomorrow’s leaders by providing educational experiences and learning opportunities that develop their ability to hedge aggressively, innovate continuously, fight distributively, delegate confidently, and command with clarity within complex battlespaces.
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