Posted on Apr 27, 2019
In the Marines, what is a "Relief and Appointment" ceremony? Is that basically the same as a Change of Command ceremony in the Army?
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I was reading an article about the Marines and came across the term "Relief and Appointment" in reference to a type of ceremony. So I was curious to ask RP what that's all about. Has anyone on RP been to both of these ceremonies and can compare them?
Marines
Change of Command
Command
Posted 5 y ago
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It's for Sergeants Major. When practicable, the ceremony will be held upon the relief of the old and appointment of the new Sergeant Major within units of battalion or squadron size and larger. The ceremony may be as simple as a formation of the unit affected a review or a parade. For example, if the old Sergeant Major is transferring then a formation or review is appropriate. If the old Sergeant Major is retiring then a retirement parade in conjunction with the relief and appointment ceremony is appropriate.
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MSgt Gerald Orvis
Captain Kletzing, the Gunny is correct - since Sergeants Major do not command, they are "appointed," thus carrying on an 18th century tradition in which the most senior serjeant in a battalion or regiment was appointed as serjeant-major (an administrative appointee who assisted the adjutant), since there was no actual rank of serjeant-major for NCOs. In the old days, before this ceremony was regulated, the posting/relief of Sergeant's Major sometimes involved the outgoing Sergeant Major passing his NCO sword to the new Sergeant Major as a symbol of his authority. That is no longer done, according to the regulations. You can find out everything you want to know about "appointment and relief" ceremonies in Marine Corps Order P5060.20 (with changes) - The Marine Corps Drill and Ceremonies Manual - in Chapter 23. I would presume that the Army has a similar ceremony in its drill and ceremonies manual. With regard to change of command ceremonies, they are usually held for formal command changes at the battalion level or above (all the way up to changes of the Commandant) and involve a parade in which the outgoing CO is relieved when he presents the unit Color to the new CO. Again, see the Marine Corps Order.
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I been in a couple usually for a Sgt MAJ that is retiring and is giving up his “appointment” to the next Sgt MAJ.
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Not all positions have "change of commands" (For Commanding Officers) so you will occasionally have "Relief and Appointment" or "Change or Charter" (with organizations that are not a "command"). They are very common on bases like Quantico.
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MSgt Gerald Orvis
The change of command parades I've seen have always involved general officers. When we had battalion or company commanders changing command, it usually involved the new CO taking over informally and then publishing a letter to his new command informing its Marines that he had taken command as of a certain date, and that all orders of his predecessor remained in effect. Thanks for the additional information.
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