ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. - Mark your calendar! Aberdeen Proving Ground will celebrate Armed Forces Week May 16 to 21 with several community events.

"APG is a 21st century installation in support of the Warfighter, and Armed Forces week is an opportunity for the community to see what we do here at APG," said Capt. Malikah McCormick APG Garrison Headquarters and Headquarters Company commander.

Based on the success of last year's Armed Forces Day, McCormick said Garrison Commander, Col. Orlando Ortiz decided to expand the celebration to a full week, allowing the installation to really showcase what it has to offer and show the community a good time.

The week will kick off with a golf tournament and will follow up with a veteran's lunch and 10K run. One of the premier activities is a Harford County-sponsored dinner cruise that will feature the relighting of the historic Pooles Island Lighthouse, the oldest standing lighthouse in Maryland. Tickets for the Spirit of Baltimore cruise can be purchased from Harford County Chamber of Commerce at 410-838-2020.

Terri Kaltenbacher, an environmental planner with the installation's Directorate of Public Works Cultural Resources Program, is organizing the Pooles Island Lighthouse event. She said "relighting the lighthouse is a symbolic gesture that not only rekindles and highlights the rich Chesapeake Bay maritime history, but also demonstrates that APG continues to strive towards responsible natural and cultural resources stewardship.

"There are many positive, but potentially disruptive, changes happening here as we become the premiere Army Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation facility in the nation," said Kaltenbacher. "The lighthouse can serve as our guiding beacon by reminding us to always remember to protect and preserve our past for the benefit of future generations.

Kaltenbacher said the installation's senior leadership views the historic lighthouse as APG's welcoming symbol, "uniting all the diverse organizations that make up Team APG."

Local schools will visit the installation May 18 when Armed Forces Day will be observed at the APG Museum grounds. Activities will include a Gold Star Family breakfast, a re-signing of the Community Covenant, an air demonstration, vehicle and aircraft displays, historical reenactments, food vendors and live entertainment.

"This will definitely be the largest Armed Forces Week celebration the APG community has seen in over 15 years," McCormick said. "Growing up in a military family, Armed Forces Day was a big event that I looked forward to every year, and I'm looking forward to bringing it back to its glory days, sharing that piece of our history with the community."