What Is a Military Retirement Ceremony?
Military servicemen and women often sacrifice time with their family, other careers, money and even their lives to serve the United States. Most do not serve to receive glory and recognition, but out of a sense of duty to their country. No matter how long the time of service or rank, retirement from the United States military constitutes a time of celebration and reflection, often marked with a military retirement ceremony.
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Significance
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Military retirement ceremonies help friends and family honor a retiring solider. The ceremonies tend to be more solemn and ceremonious, following proper military protocols for ceremonies and award presentations, as stated on the U.S. Army Alaska Public Affairs Office website. Retirement ceremonies give civilians a glimpse into military life and careers and allow both civilians and soldiers alike to thank a military person for their service.
Types
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Each branch of service follows its own protocols for retirement ceremonies, but similar aspects of retirement ceremonies are found across the branches. Ceremonies can be extremely complex with many levels of protocols and high-ranking officials or can be smaller, more intimate affairs. Retirees can be honored at a personal ceremony just for them or along with other retirees at a more public event like The U.S. Army Military District of Washington Army Retirement Ceremonies. As the District of Washington website states, the ceremonies are held throughout the year in Fort Meyer, VA and bring in participants from all over the region to honor the retirees.
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Features
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Typically, a current or retired military officer presides over the ceremony, essentially acting as the master of ceremonies. The presiding officer reads the retiring officer's biography, including any awards and additional contributions to the U.S. military branch where he served, according to militaryhusbands.com. The retiree also receives a certificate of retirement or other similar recognition award. Sometimes the retiree's spouse is also given a certificate of appreciation. The retiree, presiding officer and sometimes the spouse or other family members can give speeches or make remarks about the retiree.
Reception
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A reception often follows the formal ceremony. Here, family members and friends can celebrate the retirement in a more casual setting. The retiree often receives retirement gifts such as U.S. flags, pins, military-themed décor, keepsake boxes and other mementos, states retirementgifts.com. The reception can include appetizers or a small meal, drinks and/or dessert. The main focus of the reception is for the retiree to enjoy time with family and friends celebrating a career and life milestone.
Planning
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Because of the amount of planning that can go into a military retirement ceremony, many retirees choose a sponsor or retirement coordinator to do most of the legwork. According to navyceremony.com, for Navy retirement ceremonies, the retirement coordinator reports to the Chief of the Boat or Executive Officer regarding the ceremonies details. For the other branches, the sponsor would report to the appropriate commanding officers. The sponsor could be anyone, but someone with military experience could best handle the protocols and rules for military ceremonies.
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References
- Photo Credit the flag of the united states of america image by Michael Shake from Fotolia.com
