Military retirement ceremony programs

Many spouses ask us: Should I plan some sort of formal ceremony? Some spouses insist that formal ceremonies are the military's wheelhouse and not yours, and for those families, a simple moment of honor and thanks at the celebration can suffice. Have your spouse say a few words, and make sure to ask someone he or she has worked with to have a small, casual statement prepared as well. Your spouse might not want the attention, but people they have worked with through the years will want to pass along their thanks.

A brief but elegant toast can be perfect for the person who shies away from the spotlight. On the other hand, if your spouse loves military pomp and circumstance, coordinating a final formation or something similar is both meaningful and beautiful. If your spouse isn't coordinating this themself, work with the command and see what they usually do and what they suggest.

If you decide to print a formal invitation or send one via email , don't let the wording throw you off. While there are endless ways to phrase things, here's a good start for how to word a military retirement invitation:. If a big-to-do doesn't mean a lot to your spouse, there's no reason to sink your savings on printed media that costs as much as your wedding invitations.

People remember the person, people remember the service, people remember the fun -- you are the only one who will remember the invitation. So who do you invite? Chances are high you want to include family and friends, and in your spouse's unit, it may be customary to invite the chain of command and peers, too.

Let your spouse make the work-related decisions here - and double-check to make sure you aren't leaving out any families or friends who have supported you along the way, too. Behind every great woman is several other great women and all that. This is the easy part. Military families know their way around a party like no one else - from wetting downs to meet-the-neighbors and welcome-the-new-guy potlucks to Mando Fun events, we've got celebratory covered.

But retirement parties get to be a little special. Take time to focus your efforts on memories -- gather photos from across your spouse's time of service for display -- and make sure you talk to the unit to see if they are doing something special. Often they'll make a plaque, memory box or something with that last unit's symbol. A military retirement ceremony is different. This one marks the end of a long career in a difficult occupation and marks your transition into a completely different civilian life.

The significance of the occasion can make it difficult to know how to proceed as a spouse. What can we expect from the ceremony and what is going to be expected of us? If your spouse has decided to have a formal ceremony, here is a general rundown of what to expect. This is a question to ask your spouse. There are elements of a military retirement ceremony that are fairly standard—branch and installation specifics excluded.

Typically awards are presented, something read aloud, and a speech or two. Beyond that, a traditional ceremony will have an invocation, parade of colors, and playing of applicable anthems. Kind of like a change of command ceremony , there are just some things expected. These are the bones of the ceremony, but you may want to make it more meaningful by making some additions. The commanding officer may also limit what the command is willing to do.

Operational needs still take priority, so sometimes a conference room presentation in the middle of the afternoon is all you get. But we think there should still be cake! There are numerous poems, readings, and symbolic rituals that perfectly capture what a huge accomplishment this is. The flag is then passed from lowest ranking on up while the poem is read.

Each service has its icons. In the Marine Corps, every person who enlisted and went through boot camp knows about and has stood on the yellow footprints. If your service member started out enlisted regardless of their rank now , consider having some yellow footprints printed out and put on the floor so the service member can end his or her service the same way it started.

Would you like to support our site? We have amazing things in our store! Thanks for stopping by — God Bless! This is a great message to those who may be struggling with making the decision about having a retirement program. Like many, I knew of all the disruption to the daily routine a retirement ceremony could bring to my family, my crew, my friends, my command, etc.

I questioned the need of such a disruption just for me. It was about all the other people involved in making me a success. My father, a 34 year, retired naval aviator and 3 war veteran WWII, Korea, Vietnam was both my enlistment and retirement officer and was the center of my retirement ceremony.

I had the Division Office and Chief Engineer from my 2nd at sea command attend, these two officers helped me get my career on the right path after a rocky start. My son and my non-military friends in attendance got a sense of the close bonds we develop with our shipmates over the course of our careers.

Members of my past and current crews were present and all received my thanks and adoration for their efforts that allowed me to have a successful military career. There is some validity but I will take hold opinion until I look into it further. Good article , thanks and we want more!

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