The Army of Club Penguin has made history this week as the first army to celebrate their milestone 16th anniversary.
The Army of Club Penguin was the first army ever created, founded by Oagalthorp on September 29th, 2006. The Army of CP lasted the entirety of the original Club Penguin army community and was later revived on September 29th, 2019 by Mchappy and Chainpro.
The army soon lived up to their iconic history – placing first on the Top Ten Armies numerous times, triumphing in many wars, tournament battles, and battles against other major armies. Notably, they won the Holiday Championships finals against the Rebel Penguin Federation in January 2020. At the end of August 2021, however, the Clovers saw a mass retirement in which multiple leaders and high command stepped down from their positions. This led to a rebirth in which a new generation of the army began.
January 2020
To celebrate this monumental achievement, the Army of CP planned multiple events throughout the week. These all saw some relevance to their rich history, the first of which was a revival of the famous ACP Training Regiment. They adopted the division’s old uniform and executed an array of themed tactics.
Their second event was a SPEC OPS battle against the Strawhats, who recently declared war on them as well as the rest of the community. On the day of their anniversary, Thursday 29th, they hosted an AUSIA division ‘Back to xat’ event that was hosted on the community’s main form of communication in the original community. The event also saw the return of many veterans and former leaders.
September 29th, 2022
The Army of CP’s media outlet, the Shamrock Bulletin, has also been publishing their own anniversary-related content, including insightful interviews with former leaders and legends. This anniversary also coincides with the army’s build-up to their first-round Legends Cup XII battle, which takes place this Sunday. They are set to take on the Help Force and are no doubt looking to start their 16th year with a successful tournament run.
Club Penguin Armies were able to speak exclusively with the newest Commander-in-Chief, Calgocubs, who revealed all about his army and their sweet 16 celebrations.
16 years of the Army of Club Penguin! How important was it for you to mark this milestone anniversary with a dedicated week of celebration?
Calgocubs: You know it feels unreal to even think that ACP has been around for 16 years and despite all of our lows and highs that we are still pushing forward and fighting our way back towards the top! It feels like yesterday when I was in ACP in 2009 and back then I didn’t even think armies would last more than 5-10 years. While 16 isn’t a huge milestone like 5, 10, 15, or even 20, I think it is still a huge statement that we are still around today and going strong despite our shortcomings this past year.
Going into this year’s anniversary and taking over leader, I wanted to make our Anniversary week as big as possible rather than letting it get swept under the rug due to Legends Cup. Marking our anniversary is extremely important to me and our troops as its a way to unite our whole army and reflect on our deep rich history that has been ongoing for 16 years. Bringing old retired events back and holding XAT lead events is important as it gives our newer troops who were less fortunate to not experience the OG days of ACP a chance to get a glimpse of what it may have been like.
Being that we climbed up to the top three in the prior week and fended off losing major army status, I pivoted our attention towards focusing on the quality of our events rather than numbers so that everyone could enjoy themselves to the fullest extent. On top of that we also used this week as a way to prepare and call our troops to arms in preparation for Legends Cup which we have high anticipations to win at all costs. At the end of the day, ACP is another year older and we aren’t going anywhere except towards the top.
You were recently inaugurated as ACP’s 49th Commander-in-Chief – how did that feel and what does being a member of the Army of CP mean to you?
Calgocubs: I still haven’t fully processed taking over as Commander-in-Chief as it was something that always seemed like a distant childhood dream for me since 2009. Finally getting the chance to take over as the sole leader was something that I was extremely honored to do and did not take lightly!
The past several months over the summer prior to me making it up to HCOM and leader was spent drafting up a detailed plan for what I would do if I took over as leader as well as meeting consistently with Zeus who mentored me and prepared me for the position and its responsibilities. Ultimately there is no greater honor than getting the chance to lead a historic army such as ACP especially considering it has been my home since 2009. There is definitely a lot of weight on my shoulders to make decisions that are in the best interest of the army and steer us into a new era, but I will not falter when faced with this challenge.
Being a member of the Army of CP means that we fight for what we believe in, we stand proud in our beliefs as well as our army, and we do not back down even if the odds are all stacked against us. Every one of our troops has in some way, shape, or form influenced our army and made it what it is today. Without our troops as well as our loyal vets we would be nothing. At the end of the day, ACP is an ever-changing army that continues to flourish as we pass the torches onto the next generation who are ready to answer the call.
What can we expect from the Army of CP in its 16th year of activity?
Calgocubs: I think the biggest promise I can make that I intend to bring into action is that we will be taking back our rightful throne at the top of the Top Ten rankings as well as re-establishing ourselves as a dominant force. This task will not be easy, nor will it happen overnight, but I plan to make it come to fruition through my detailed step-by-step plans for completely rebuilding the army from the ground up.
Within the first week of my leadership we made great strides to end isolationism, reform our recruiting methods, rebuild our staff team and culture, etc. This is just the beginning for what I have in store for ACP as well as the community. My plan isn’t just to fix ACP and bring it back to what it used to be, but for us to ascend far higher than we ever have before which will only be achieved through us spearheading new initiatives and innovating to improve our army and our strength against other armies.
As leader of ACP I am quite disgusted by the sentiments many other leaders hold of being anti-war and against conflict. This goes against all traditional values and roots of armies and I plan to take action into my own hands if need be to shake up this community. While I can’t reveal my full plans for what I have in store for this community just yet, I will say that this is just the beginning of our rise. So sit back, relax, and enjoy the wild ride because ACP is here to stay and we will not be cowering away anymore!
The Army of CP’s 16th anniversary also marks the 16th year of activity for the entire community, as the first army to have been created way back in 2006. Next year, other historic armies such as the Rebel Penguin Federation and Ice Warriors will join them in reaching this huge milestone.