I unexpectedly found myself in a sea of both khaki and black-and-white uniforms, and the music was coming from a US Navy band. I had to stop to find out what event had brought them there.
117th CPO Birthday
It turns out that April 1st was the 117th "birthday" of the Chief Petty Officer (CPO) rank in the US Navy, which was established in 1893. As is often the case, Wikipedia provided the clearest explanation of what this means. Citing The Chief Petty Officer's Guide by John Hagan and Jack Leahy, the site states that promotion to this grade is the most significant step in the enlisted ranks.
Once an enlisted sailor is promoted to CPO, he or she is henceforth referred to as "Chief" and entitled to wear a uniform that is indistinguishable from that of officers except for the insignia. More importantly, achieving this rank means that the Chief is considered to be part of the leadership team, with expectations of greatly increased responsibilities.
In other words, the Chiefs are the backbone of the Navy in the same sense that senior sergeants form the backbone of the other services.
I couldn't stay to see the ceremony, but I did take a number of pictures as well as this video of the band playing an excerpt from John Philip Sousa's The Stars and Stripes Forever:
Getting There
The Navy Memorial is situated on a prime parcel of real estate at 701 Pennsylvania Avenue, directly across from the National Archives, several blocks west of the US Capitol and just to the north of the National Mall.
There's a small Navy museum at the site, and the memorial represents the Great Lakes and the Seven Seas. The signature element is the statue of The Lone Sailor, an enlisted "bluejacket" sailor willing to serve the country far from home and family.
As in most places downtown, Metro is a great option for getting there and the escalators at the Archives/Navy Memorial stop come up literally next to the memorial.
No comments:
Post a Comment