More than 30 first class petty officers (FCPO) and chief petty officers (CPO), assigned to the submarine tender USS Frank Cable (AS 40), cleaned up and groomed the Atantano Shrine, Feb. 25, as part of an ongoing community relations (COMREL) project in Piti, Guam.

Atantano Shrine is a historic commemorative marker dating back to 1834 and was adopted by Frank Cable's First Class Petty Officer Association in 2015. FCPOs and CPOs teamed up to preserve this landmark as a CPO 365 COMREL.

"Having the FCPOs and CPOs working together creates a level of trust and teamwork that would be emulated not only during the COMRELs but in normal day-to-day tasking," said Senior Chief Electronics Technician LaToya Blaine, CPO 365 coordinator. "Every event that we do has some history or story behind why we do that particular event. We do these things to show the importance of carrying on our heritage and our tradition. Being a part of the change in the community and the Navy is what we are here for, so this is another avenue to showcase our organization."

The shrine has been the site for many annual festivals since before World War II. Originally, the shrine was not properly maintained or well-kept.

"The shrine has come a long way since we started cleaning here," said Machinist's Mate 1st Class Elvin J. Ermitanio, FCPOA president and native of Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands. "We get to give back to the local community and give them a cleaner area where they can practice their religious beliefs. Events like this help us with building our teamwork, communication and making us more of a family."

CPO 365 is a year-round training initiative that Chiefs Messes throughout the Navy take on to prepare first class petty officers to become chiefs. Phase II of CPO 365 begins when the chief petty officer selection board results are released, which will occur later this year.

"Community relations are a large part of what the Navy does to increase camaraderie between the local community and the Navy," said Blaine. "FCPOs and CPOs are looked at as the first line leaders, so we are leading by example. We are practicing what we preach to our Sailors when we talk about all the great things that make our Navy great."

Frank Cable is forward deployed to the island of Guam and conducts maintenance and support of submarines and surface vessels in the 5th and 7th Fleet areas of operations. For more information on Frank Cable, visit us on Facebook at USS Frank Cable (AS 40), or http://www.csp.navy.mil/frankcable.

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For more news from USS Frank Cable (AS 40), visit http://www.navy.mil/.