Join us for another year of united grassroots struggle against the US war machine, its decimation of the world, and its abuses against the people of Portland.

While marketed as a family-friendly and patriotic attraction, in reality Fleet Week functions as a military recruitment campaign and glorifies U.S.-led war.

The ships that dock along the Willamette River during Fleet Week are not neutral symbols — they are active components of the U.S. military. Many have been deployed in invasions, occupations, and large-scale military exercises. These vessels are often equipped with weapons and surveillance systems produced by major defense contractors such as Raytheon and General Dynamics, whose business models rely on ongoing global conflict. For example, in 2023, the USS John S. McCain (DDG 56) participated in Fleet Week in Portland. This same ship was deployed to the Persian Gulf in 2003, where it launched 39 Tomahawk missiles during the U.S. invasion of Iraq. When Portland hosts Fleet Week, it contributes to the normalization of militarism in our public spaces — aligning the city with the machinery of war, rather than peace and justice.

Fleet Week brings concrete consequences for Portland communities:

• The Portland Police Bureau increases sweeps of unhoused residents in preparation for the Rose Festival, displacing vulnerable people to make room for visitors, and to increase profitability.
• The presence of increased military personnel correlates with higher risks of violence against women and sex workers, as seen in cities across the country.
• Military ships docked on the Willamette continue to pollute the river, already burdened by environmental injustice. In 2023, the Willamette Weekly published that the USCGC Elm released 21.44 tons of C02 emissions while docked in our river. This is just one of many ships.
• Fleet Week opens up our city—and especially our youth—to military recruitment under the guise of patriotism and education. Young people are invited onto warships and exposed to glorified displays of combat technology, fostering celebration of militarism rather than critical engagement. The military is not an alternative to joblessness for youth - we need fully funded schools, programs, and jobs - not military recruitment and JROTC programs, where youth are put at increased risk of sexual violence.
• Perhaps most insidiously, the normalization of militarism in our public spaces sends a chilling message to Portland’s immigrant communities and communities of color—communities already targeted by police, ICE, and Homeland Security. As a sanctuary city, Portland has pledged to protect and support these communities, yet the visible presence of warships and military personnel undermines that promise. It reinforces a culture of surveillance and state violence, making clear who is truly welcome in this city—and who is treated as a threat.

Join the Reject Militarization Coalition in our series of events building towards our mass mobilization on 6/8!

✊ 5/31 - Caravan to protest Northwest Detention Center (IMA, Voz)
✊ 6/1 11-5 - Study Philippine Society & Revolution (Gabriela PDX)
✊ 6/3 7:30-9p - Resist Fleet Week Art Build & Letter Writing
✊ 6/7 1:30 - Fleet Week Counter Recruitment (War Resisters League)
✊ 6/7 5p - Film screening of We Shall Prevail (Movement for Peoples' Unity)
✊ 6/8 12-2 - Resist Fleet Week Mass Mobilization

? Wear a mask! ?