"At Ease at the History Center" is a salute to San Diego’s armed forces.

Learn about San Diego’s long-standing ties to the military dating from the Spanish occupation of Alta California to the present day.

See the exhibition "Presidio to Pacific Powerhouse" and learn the history of Navy Medical Center while you enjoy hosted craft beer and cocktails, bites, and lite hors d’ouvres, live music, and raffle prizes.

San Diego has been a military town ever since 1774, when it was officially made a presidio guarding the coast of California against the encroachment from European nations such as England and Russia. Built atop a hill in what is today Presidio Park, Spanish soldiers lived with their families inside the fort, eking out an existence in defense of the Spanish Crown in the New World.

Today, San Diego is home to the largest fleet concentration anywhere in the world and one in four San Diegans is employed with, or works directly for, a military-support company.