The establishment of the Chief Petty Officer grade in the United States Navy on April 1st, 1893 is an event worthy of commemoration, and a CPO Mess came out to Cabrillo this spring to celebrate their 121^st birthday.

The group volunteered at Cabrillo on multiple days and assisted rangers in conservation efforts throughout the park.

With the people power of over 70 active military men and women, the group removed over a ton of non-native plants at Cabrillo National Monument.  Volunteers also walked around the Park picking up trash and removing graffiti.  It was a great group effort and the work would not have been completed without the assistance from the Navy volunteers.

Their next visit up was on April 1^st and the day was split into several parts: trash collection, a tour of historic military installations and birthday celebrations.

The Mess was given a tour of Cabrillo’s base end station, searchlight bunker, and generator house, and learned the stories of the 19^th Coast Artillery Unit from WWII living history volunteers.  Volunteers also represented the U.S. Navy and interpreted the stories of Navy involvement on the peninsula during WWII.  The Mess enjoyed hearing the history from our enthusiastic Cabrillo Volunteer who brought history alive!  After the tour the group sat down and enjoyed lunch together and the beautiful view.

Cabrillo, as well as San Diego, has a strong military story, and the park looks to build stronger partnerships with active and retired military groups.  The park issued 47 Interagency Active Duty U.S Military Annual Passes on their first day of volunteering.

We are thankful to all the men and women who volunteered at Cabrillo. They greatly assisted the Park’s effort in managing this land for future generations. We are also glad the Navy volunteers got to sweat for a little bit of sweet up at Cabrillo.

Happy Birthday!

tdr/dz