Quarterdeck Ball Avion Article

Quarterdeck Ball By MIDN 3rd Class Mark Altman, ERAU NROTCU Don’t worry the hordes of people in white uniforms on October 23rd isn’t a remake of Top Gun; it’s the Embry-Riddle Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps Unit’s annual Quarterdeck Ball, often called Dining-Out due to the allowance of dates or “guests” to attend. This year the Ball will take place in the Plaza Hotel in Downtown Daytona Beach, and will include guest speaker Rear Admiral Gary Jones. The Quarterdeck Ball has a long history in the world’s military. Quarterdeck Ball quite possibly started in antiquity with Roman Legionnaires. These early Dining-Outs were created to allow warriors to share stories of past feats, and to honor their dead comrades. This carried on to the British Islands where it eventually became a part of the Royal Navy, an event where the officers of the mess met, sometimes with spouses or other guests, to socialize. The official purpose of these “Guest Nights”, as the British called it, was to “for an evening of good food, fellowship, and honoring the feats of individuals and organizations.” This event was adopted and changed by American Colonials, and today each service has their own version of Dining-Out. The traditions of Quarterdeck Ball are long and varied. Each unit has their own personal flair that they put on the event, but some traditions remain the same throughout the entire Navy. The first bit of tradition to be adopted by Americans was the idea of a loyal toast. The loyal toast was a toast done by the British to the reigning monarch. It was toasted with alcohol both ashore and afloat, and that exact custom, except that the toast became to the President, was carried out by Americans until alcohol was banned on ships in 1914, when the toast became a strictly an “in port” toast. Other loyal toasts include toasts to: the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Commandant of the Marine Corps, the Chief of Naval Operations, the Ships at Sea and Deployed Marines, Our Missing Comrades, the Guest of Honor, the United States Marine Corps, and the United States Navy. Another extremely important tradition is the honors given to Missing Comrades, this includes the toast but also a “Missing Man” table. The toast to Missing Comrades is silent, in that there is no response given to the toast and instead a moment of silence is preserved, and the Missing Man table symbolizes the missing men and what they meant to the mess. There is also a period of informal toasting followed by the guest speaker, in this case Rear Admiral Gary Jones, rises and speaks to the mess. Rear Admiral Jones graduated from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1975, with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Mechanical Engineering. He also holds a Master of Science Degree in Systems Management

from the University of Southern California, and is an Armed Forces Staff College graduate. Designated a Naval Aviator in 1976, early operational assignments include duty in HSL-32 and HSL-34. Jones also participated in the Personnel Exchange Program, flying with the British Royal Navy while assigned to 829 Squadron in Portland, England. Returning to HSL-34 as executive officer, he became Commanding officer in November 1992. Jones next served as air boss aboard USS Saipan (LHA 2). After Saipan, Jones joined USS Peleliu (LHA 5) as executive officer for a Persian Gulf deployment. In April 1998, he became commanding Officer of Peleliu, and completed a Western Pacific/Persian Gulf deployment. Staff and shore assignments include flight instructor duty in HSL-30, serving in the Secretary of Defense’s Office for Special Operations/Low-Intensity Conflict and duty on the CNO Staff as head of Operations, Plans and Political-Military Affairs in the Western Hemisphere. He also served as executive assistant to the Deputy Commander-in-Chief/Chief-of-Staff, U.S. Atlantic Fleet. Prior to Flag selection, he was director, Readiness/Warfare Requirements at ComNavAirLant. His initial Flag assignment was commander, U.S. Naval Forces Korea, and Naval Component Commander, United Nations Command in Seoul, Republic of Korea. Jones next assumed command of Amphibious Force, 7th Fleet, Commander Amphibious Group 1/CTF-76 in Okinawa, Japan. He also served as commander, Forward Deployed Naval Forces Expeditionary Strike Group (FDNF ESG). He served as the Commander Naval Service Training Command and Navy Region Midwest before his most recent assignment as Commander Naval Education and Training.