Musicians assigned to Navy Band Northwest, the premier United States Navy musical organization in the Pacific Northwest Region, performed at various locations during Denver Navy Week, Oct. 11 – 17. Through nearly 500 engagements each year such as military ceremonies, public concerts and regional tours, Navy Band Northwest serves to heighten esprit-de-corps throughout military and civilian communities, promote patriotism and increase public awareness of the Navy's mission.
This week, Petty Officer 1st Class Darryl Andrew Forney, Petty Officer 2nd Class Catherine Annette Chauvot, Petty Officer 2nd Class Marc Placencia, Petty Officer 3rd Class Elyssa Creed and Petty Officer 3rd Class Leland Matsumura increased the Denver community’s Navy awareness through their performances. They performed traditional Navy anthems as well as Disney classics at the Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum, the Veterans Community Living Center at Fitzsimons, the Rocky Mountain Hospital for Children and Thomas Jefferson High School.
“Navy Weeks are all about community outreach,” said Forney, who joined the Navy over 21 years ago. “I’ve done a lot of Navy Weeks and therefore seen firsthand the impact they can have on a community. This week we have had the opportunity to speak to retired service members at the Veterans Community Living Center at Fitzsimons. Today, I was outside speaking to a fireman who told me he was a former Marine. I think talking to people in the communities where the Navy doesn’t have ships, goes a long way.”
Navy Weeks are the service’s signature outreach program, designed to give citizens the opportunity to learn about the Navy, its people and its importance to national security and prosperity, strengthening the service’s ties to the community.
Navy Weeks focus a variety of outreach assets, equipment, and personnel on a single city for a week-long series of 75-100 outreach events in partnership with corporate, civic, government, education, media, veterans, community service and diversity organizations.
“Serving in the Navy allows me to not only play my instrument, which is something I do love to do, but it also gives me a greater purpose in life,” said Chauvot. “Of course, we perform at ceremonies, but during events such as this Navy Week, when we get to go to places like Veterans Community Living Center at Fitzsimons and perform and speak to veterans who served our country before me—that’s what is the most touching. I’m a trumpet player, so I often play during funerals. That adds a lot of weight to the job. It’s always meaningful to be a musician and potentially change someone’s life through music, but I have the extra layer of also serving the military and contributing to our nation’s freedoms.”
The United States Ceremonial Guard, Explosive Ordnance Disposal Group 1, Navy Talent Acquisition Group Rocky Mountain and Navy History and Heritage Command also engaged with Denver’s community during different events throughout the week.
Denver Navy Week is one of 13 Navy Weeks in 2021. Each year, the program reaches more than 140 million people -- about half the U.S. population.