Naval Museum to host 20th Annual CPO Heritage Days Event for three days on October 19-20, 2021

Photo By Petty Officer 3rd Class Taylor Elberg | 170823-N-DQ503-053 NORFOLK, Va. (Aug. 23, 2017) Chief selectees disembark the USS Wisconsin (BB-64) during the 17th Annual Chief Petty Officer Heritage Days. The staff of the Hampton Roads Naval Museum teamed up with local chief petty officers to present three days of heritage training for the Navy’s new chief selectees aboard the Wisconsin. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Taylor A. Elberg)  

NORFOLK , VA, UNITED STATES

09.16.2021

Story by Max Lonzanida  

Hampton Roads Naval Museum

Reservation Contact: Thomas Dandes
Special Events Coordinator, Hampton Roads Naval Museum
Phone [phone]
[e-mail]

Media Contact: Max Lonzanida
Public Affairs Officer, Hampton Roads Naval Museum
Phone [phone]
[e-mail]

Press Release:
September 16, 2021

Naval Museum to host 20th Annual CPO Heritage Days Event for three days on October 19-20, 2021

(Norfolk, Virginia): The Hampton Roads Naval Museum, in conjunction with a great team of volunteer Chief Petty Officers from the Hampton Roads area, will host the CPO Heritage Days event at Nauticus and aboard the Battleship Wisconsin for three days. The dates of this event are October 19th, 20th, and 21st, 2021. This event will be the 20th anniversary of CPO Heritage Days in Norfolk.

There will be an average of 250 chief selectees per day on October 19th, 20th, and 21st, 2021. The CPO Heritage Days event is designed to enhance the selectees’ knowledge of naval history and instill a better sense of Chief Petty Officer heritage and pride. Each command will attend only one of the three days. Each command requesting a spot for their selectees may also include two chiefs per command to escort their people and attend their classroom training.

This year’s CPO Heritage Days will commence at 0530 and end at approximately 1400 on each of the three days. The events on the 19th, 20th, and 21st will start with a formation march from the Harbor Park parking lot to Town Point Park, where all selectees will attend a safety brief. Here they will be split into mixed groups and spend the next few hours rotating through seven learning stations of CPO History & Heritage aboard the Battleship Wisconsin. All learning station presentations are graded and count towards the command’s final score and the presentation of the “Best Mess” trophy.

The Chief’s mess will be raffling one new navy cutlass and stand. Cost is $5.00 per ticket or $20.00 for five tickets. There will be a challenge coin raffle each day, challenge coins for sale, and CPO Heritage shirts for sale. All proceeds from these sales will go back to the CPO mess to help fund next year’s heritage event.

All Chief Petty Officers, active and retired, are welcome to join their brothers and sisters in the pavilion behind the Nauticus building when the selectees leave the ship at 10:00 a.m. each day. For those who wish, there will be lunches available to order and purchase in advance. After the lunch break, the selectees will regroup with their commands for the cadence and guidon competition. Here, they will explain the guidons they have made for their mess and demonstrate their cadence in competition against the other commands. This is also a graded event.

Before and after the events will be presentations from current and former Fleet, Force, and Master Chief Petty Officers of the U.S. Navy.

At the end of the event, all scores from each graded event will be tallied and the winner of the “Best Mess” trophy will be announced.

To book your reservation, coordinators must contact Tom Dandes, BTCS(SW), Ret., at [phone] or via email at [e-mail] as soon as practical after the release of the Selection Board results. All reservations will be made on a first-come, first-serve basis until all spots are filled for each day.

About the Museum:

The Hampton Roads Naval Museum is one of ten U.S. Navy museums within the U.S. Naval History and Heritage Command. The museum interprets the history of the U.S. Navy in and around Hampton Roads, Virginia, from the Revolutionary War to the present day for service members and the general public. They perform this mission through collections, research, preservation, interpretation of historic artifacts and educational programs. Through this mission the U.S. Navy’s proud tradition, heritage, honor and esprit de corps is perpetuated and better appreciated by all. More information can be found on their website, www.hrnm.navy.mil.



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• Date Taken: 09.16.2021
• Date Posted: 08.20.2021 12:25
• Story ID: 403618
• Location: NORFOLK , VA, US
• Hometown: NORFOLK, VA, US
• Hometown: VIRGINIA BEACH, VA, US
• Hometown: WASHINGTON, DC, US
• Hometown: YORKTOWN, VA, US