Military Ball 101


Going to your first military ball can be exciting and terrifying at the same time because a lot of places do things differently. Here's 6 things you should know before you should go according to my experiences!

1. They are a formal event, so don't go in under dressed. 

High ranking officers, sergeants and NCO's will notice and it will reflect poorly on your soldier. And the wives can be even more judgmental than their high ranking husbands. Some girls that went to my boyfriend's Ball wore short more homecoming style dresses and you could tell they were uncomfortable and felt out of place. This is a black tie event so it will be worth it to buy or borrow a nice dress. Here's what I wore my first time. I wore this navy blue dress from my senior prom since it was only months apart, I didn't have enough to buy another, but this worked very well for me and I seemed to be up to par with most everyone else.

2. There are a ton of traditions

These traditions vary by unit and it's important to be highly respectful of those traditions because they normally honor those who lost their lives in the unit from the beginning when it first started. For my boyfriends, they made grog. It included alcohol to represent every battle the unit was involved with and at the end all the soldiers do a shot of it. 

3. Splurge for the hotel room

Do this! Especially if it's not in your home town. These balls make for long nights and most people go out after as well. Splurge and make it a mini-vacation!

4. Be prepared for cocktail hour!

This time can be a bit daunting because some units will have a receiving line for higher command and their spouse. My boyfriend's unit did not do this, but if you do have to go through this process, just remember the female is greeted first!

5. Bring cash

There are always raffles, or cash bar or something you will need cash for! Do not forget cash! We forgot and the ATM ran out of cash by the time we got through the line. Just do this one.

6. Enjoy yourself!

They can be a ton of fun and it's a great way to get to know the other girlfriends that will be going through deployment times with you! Just don't get too wasted, because their chain of command will notice and it might reflect poorly against your soldier. 



 Check in next week for another post about being a National Guard girlfriend and as always, comment with questions or any topics you would like to hear about!

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