Dining in
Dining in is a formal military ceremony for members of a company or other unit, including dinner, drinks, and various activities aimed at fostering camaraderie and esprit de corps.
The United States Army, Coast Guard, and Air Force refer to this event as a dining in or dining-in. In contrast, the Navy and Marine Corps call it mess night. Other names include regimental dinner, guest night, formal mess dinner, and band night.
Dining in is a formal event for all male and female unit members, although some specialized mess nights may be restricted to officers or enlisted personnel only. The unit chaplain is generally invited if an invocation is needed. A unit's dining-in typically consists solely of its members, except for any guest(s) of honor. An optional formal dinner known as the dining-out can include spouses and other guests. The dining-out adheres to the same basic rules as the dining-in but is often designed to minimize some military traditions, making it more accessible for civilian guests.
Except for the annual celebration of the Marine Corps Birthday, no social function associated with the smaller of America's naval services is more enjoyed, admired and imitated than the mess night.
– — Lieutenant Colonel Merrill L. Bartlett, USMC (Ret.)
History
Dining in is believed to have formally started in 16th-century England, particularly in monasteries and universities. However, some records suggest that militaries have held formal dinners as far back as the Roman Legions. The Vikings conducted formal ceremonies to honor and celebrate their battles and heroes. During the 18th century, the British Army integrated the practice of formal dining into their regimental mess system. Customs and rules of the mess soon became institutionalized as the "Queen's Regulations." Dining in or "mess night" became a tradition in all British regiments. The Americans, borrowing many of their traditions from the British military, held mess nights during the 18th and 19th centuries, although this tradition faded after the Civil War.
Dining in experienced a temporary halt in the US Navy and Marine Corps when Navy Secretary Josephus Daniels imposed a prohibition on alcoholic beverages, but the tradition was soon reinstated. During World War II, the custom was revived in the U.S. military, initially within the U.S. Army Air Forces' 8th Air Force, which was stationed in Britain. Army Air Forces officers were invited to participate in British military—hosted mess nights and were then required to reciprocate.
British traditions
Formal functions
A formal function is one that all mess members may be required to attend, and service personnel are on official duty.
The entitlements for official functions are:
Officers' Mess
12 formal Functions per year. Typically, these consist of 2 seasonal balls and 10 other functions (e.g., Mess Dinners) as agreed upon by the mess committees.
Warrant Officers' and Senior Rates/Sergeants' Mess
6 Formal Functions per year. Typically, these include 2 seasonal balls and 4 other functions (e.g., Mess Dinners) as agreed upon by the mess committees.
Loyal Toast
The port decanters should be positioned at designated spots in front of the President and Vice President. The President and Vice President will simultaneously remove the stoppers and pass the decanters in a clockwise direction to the left. Wine stewards should accompany the decanters around the table with a jug of water, filling the glasses of any diners who decline port or madeira. The glasses of the President and Vice President will be filled last, after which they will replace the stoppers on the decanters. All stewards may then be required to leave the dining room before the President invites the Vice President to propose the Loyal Toast. While personnel from the Army and Royal Air Force (RAF) stand for the Loyal Toast, those in the Royal Navy (RN) remain seated. While passing the port, RN Senior Rates traditionally ensure the decanter does not leave the table, usually by tilting the decanter to fill a glass held beneath the table edge before sliding it to the next guest. In the RAF, it is passed from hand to hand without touching the table. In the Army, it will depend on the traditions of the regiment.
Army
By the late 18th century, the British Army's "mess night" developed formal rules due to troops being stationed in remote areas. Officers elected mess committees to manage their meals. Towards the end of the 19th century, attending officers were expected to adhere to the strict etiquette of Victorian-era society.
In modern times, it is sometimes referred to as a "regimental dinner."
Royal Navy officers have the privilege of remaining seated while toasting the Sovereign. Some sources suggest that this privilege was granted by William IV. A popular story claims that Charles II was aboard his namesake ship, Royal Charles, and bumped his head on the low ceiling of the wardroom when he stood up to respond to a toast made in his honor. He declared that from then on, naval officers would never again rise to toast a British sovereign. In 1964, Queen Elizabeth II extended this privilege to the Royal Marines in honor of their 300th anniversary.
The custom of "dining in" to welcome new officers and "dining out" to bid farewell to retiring officers originated with the British, although the term emerged much later. It has been discontinued in some countries, such as the United States, but is still practiced by the Royal Navy.
Toasts at sea
- The traditional toasts after dinner for ships at sea are listed below. On certain days, an alternative toast is available but the first one is most usual.
- Sunday "Absent friends" or "Absent friends and those at sea"
- Monday "Our ship at sea" or "Our native land"
- Tuesday "Our sailors"
- Wednesday "Ourselves (as no one is likely to concern themselves with our welfare)" or "Ourselves – our swords"
- Thursday "A bloody war or a sickly season"
- Friday "A willing foe and sea room" "Fox hunting and old port"
- Saturday "Our families"
Trafalgar Night
For Trafalgar Night Mess Dinners, the routine varies slightly from a normal dinner night. When the main course is about to be served, the Baron of Beef is first paraded around the table behind a drummer. Similarly, before commencing the service of the sweet, the Ships of the Line are also paraded around the table in a similar fashion to the Beef. The toasts used at dinner on Trafalgar Night are:
- His Majesty the King.
- The immortal memory of Admiral/Lord Nelson and his comrades.
- Our distinguished guests (if appropriate).
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force inherited many mess traditions from the British Army due to their main predecessor, the Royal Flying Corps, being part of the Army. These customs were notably passed on to the US Army Air Forces during World War II as British and American crew served alongside one another in close quarters.
US traditions
Portions of the event tend to become quite humorous in nature, while others remain somber. Etiquette requires a diner to know what is appropriate at any given time.
The dining in follows established protocols. After a brief cocktail period of 30 to 45 minutes, the presiding officer, known as the "President of the Mess," announces, "Please be seated." The group then retires to the dining area to be seated.
After tasting the meat (usually beef), the President will declare it "tasty and fit for human consumption", after which the meal will be served to the diners. After the dessert is finished, the President will invite the chief steward to bring forth wine and/or punch to be served, and toasting will begin. After the toasts have concluded, the floor will be opened to the levying of fines. The president and the guest of honor will have the opportunity to speak if they so desire. After this, the mess is often then returned to an open cocktail hour, and then the evening concludes with final honors.
The final and most solemn toast is always to fallen comrades. Often this tribute is marked with a table setting dedicated to those military members killed, captured, or missing in action.
Unusual toasting customs are prevalent in U.S. and Canadian traditions. For instance, in the Toronto Scottish Regiment, a loyal toast to the regiment's colonel-in-chief (currently King Charles III as of 2024) is performed while standing with one foot on the chair and the other on the dining table, facing a portrait of the colonel-in-chief, and participants drink after the piper has played. Similarly, many Scottish regiments perform toasts in the same manner, with one foot on a chair and one on the table. This practice is also common among the United States Marine Corps. In the Scottish style of toasting, the glass is raised, lowered, taken out, and brought in as the words of the toast—typically featuring phrases like "Up," "Down," "To you," and "To me"—are recited, culminating with the cry "Drink it up!" or a similar exclamation.
Violations of etiquette and other traditions
Violations of the formal etiquette of the dining in are "punished", generally with fines. The following are examples of what could be considered "Violations of the Mess":
- Arriving late to proceedings
- Smoking at the table before the smoking lamp is lit
- Bargaining over date of rank
- Wearing an improper uniform
- Inverted cummerbund (Note that U.S. Army regulations require cummerbunds to be worn upside down: i.e., pleats down.)
- Wearing a clip-on bow tie that is obviously crooked
- Mistakes
- Loud and disruptive remarks in a foreign language
- Swearing
- Discussing controversial topics (politics, religion, and women are often forbidden topics)
- Improper toasting procedures
- Toasting with an empty glass
- Standing to applaud especially witty, concise, sarcastic, or relevant toasts, unless following the President's lead
- Leaving the dining room without the President of the Mess's permission
- Bringing cocktails into the dining area before dinner is over
- Bargaining over imposed penalties or fines
- Drawing a sword except during ceremonies
At some mess nights, offenders of the mess are required to publicly drink from a grog bowl in front of the other attendees. The grog is sometimes held in a toilet bowl, made up of various mixed alcoholic beverages. To enhance its unpleasantness, the grog may also include floating solids like meatballs, raw oysters, or Tootsie Rolls. The tradition of drinking grog dates back to the British Navy, where it consisted of the standard rum ration watered down to curb binge drinking. Today, grog comes in two forms: alcoholic and non-alcoholic, with the latter potentially including anything that makes it taste worse, such as hot sauce. For added effect, the drinker might also be required to consume from a boot.
In addition to visiting the grog bowl and paying fines, violators may be sentenced to sing songs, tell jokes, do pushups, or perform menial tasks to entertain the mess. In most cases, when a violator has been identified, he or she is given the opportunity to provide a rebuttal or defense for the violation. This rarely results in the violator being excused for the offense and usually only results in more punishment.
Traditionally, all fines collected throughout the night are split amongst the stewards that served the attendees as a token of appreciation for their efforts. The fines can also be used to pay for the drinks consumed, while some units have used the Mess Night as a fund raiser (often to pay for a ball).
Members of the mess may also be singled out for some good-natured ribbing and teasing. In some units, members go out of their way to be picked on, often wearing apparent uniform violations, such as crowns, tiaras, eye-patches, bowties and cummerbunds of the wrong color, and other items that have no place on any military uniform (although it is common for US Artillerymen to wear red socks, suspenders and even bowties, in a nod to tradition at the expense of uniform regulations). Some will attempt to leave sabotaging evidence on or around others they wish to see fined, so care must be taken not to be the butt of a joke.
Navy and Marine traditions also include that no diner may leave the hall to use the restroom without permission until Mr. Vice suggests that the company "shed a tear for Lord Admiral Nelson", a reference to the fact that his body was preserved in a barrel of brandy after his death at Trafalgar.
Most Messes attempt to furnish the night with military music and marches, with live bands if possible, or recorded music. Depending on the formal ceremony, the diners may be required to march to their seats.
Recently, Marines have created a variant of the mess in a "field environment," replacing mess dress with utilities and combat gear (including camouflage face paint), canteen cups, and tents, while still maintaining the formal essence of the ceremony.
Missing Man Dinner
In the United States, a "dinner of remembrance" is held to honor all our comrades who were killed in action, missing in action, or Prisoners of War.
See also [ Missing Man Dinner ]
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