USMC Ball

USMC Ball

 

Memento

LOI IAO

IAO

LOI

Calendar

2026 Marine Corps Ball Schedule

GOH BIO

Guest of Honor

MCCS Food & Hospitality, along with your hosting Marine Corps Ball club manager, provides a Marine Corps Ball program for each ball attendee. Programs typically include a single insert with the Guest of Honor’s (GOH) photo and biography. If requisite GOH deadlines are met, 45 days prior to your unit's ball, MCCS Food & Hospitality will ensure the GOH insert is printed and delivered to the venue for your unit to place at each seat with the program.

Instructions for Guest of Honor Biography and Photo submission:

  • All GOH biographies should follow the Marine Corps University Communications Style Guide MCU CSG Chapter 10.
  • Guest of Honor biographies and photos are due no later than 45 days prior to your unit’s ball. MCCS will not produce Guest of Honor inserts if submitted past the 45-day deadline. 
  • Any units that miss the 45-day deadline need to use the 2024 template and coordinate printing and program insertion with the club manager where the unit’s ball will be hosted.
  • Due Date Calendar
  • Keep the word count between 300 and 500 words.
  • Please ensure the biographies reflect the Guest of Honor’s current billet and rank. If your GOH is a civilian, please include their current occupational title and city of residence.
  • MCCS will not edit acronyms, awards, battles or campaigns, other than ensuring spelling and grammar are correct. Proper nomenclature is the unit POC’s responsibility. Acronyms will be used as submitted. 
  • Use a vertical photo that is a high resolution (JPG with 300 dpi).
  • The photo must be free of any text and/or borders. (No command board photos please).
  • Completed biographies, with included photos, should be sent as a Word.doc attachment to both email addresses: kyoko.akamine.ja@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org and Adriana.GuadamuzBadilla@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org

2026 Guest of Honor Template

 

Entertainment

Marine Corps Birthday Ball DJ and Live Entertainment Requests

Marine Corps Community Services (MCCS) will provide a Disc Jockey (DJ) for all Birthday Balls held at the assigned MCCS facilities at no cost to the unit. If a Birthday Ball is held outside of an assigned MCCS facility the unit will bear the DJ expense. If a unit wishes to request live entertainment, such as an Eisa performance group, the requesting unit will bear the cost of the entertainment. All live entertainment requests for Marine Corps Birthday Balls must be submitted no later than 15 September. Any request submitted after this date will not be accepted.

All requests should be sent by email to: mccsentertainment@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org.

Also, please understand that it will be the responsibility of the requested unit to escort the performers/artists needing base access.

Photos

Marine Corps Birthday Ball Photography Services Plan

There will be an assigned photographer at each birthday ball on the calendar. Attendees can have their photographs taken by professional photographers at no cost. No cash transactions will take place on-site. Photography packages will be available for sale via the internet.

The ball photography website link and secure password will be sent to the email address entered in Eventbrite for each attendee within 10 days after the ball. Attendees will be able to share their password to allow family and friends to purchase photographs.

Printed photos and digital downloads will be available. Photographs are printed by an online source and mailed directly to the attendee’s PSC box, unit, or address of their choice.

For more information, email mccsballphotos@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org, contact DSN 645-5818/5387, or call 098-970-5818/5837 from off-base.

III MEF Band

III MEF Band Requests

Download and complete the request form, here:

Or click this link: https://www.music.marines.mil/Bands/III-Marine-Expeditionary-Force-Band-Japan/

**Please be advised submissions of a band request does not automatically guarantee band support for your event.

Transportation

Transportation

Please submit all Transportation Request Forms to transportationrequest@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org no later than TWO WEEKS or 14 calendar days before your scheduled ball. Faxed and hand-delivered requests will not be accepted. All plans for the ball must be solidified before submitting your requests, as multiple or last-minute changes may not be accommodated due to resource limitations.

A single Point of Contact (POC) for your Unit’s Ball is required to ensure efficient, accurate, and up-to-date information for the request is received. If, for any reason, the POC has been reassigned, please ensure MCCS Motor Transportation is provided with the new POC’s information as soon as possible. Please provide a Staff or Senior NCO on each bus to maintain order, discipline, and passenger safety while in transit.

Balls being held at MCCS facilities take priority over Balls being held elsewhere. Additionally, Balls being held outside MCCS facilities will incur a $50 per hour Charter Fee per bus with a minimum 3-hour start-up fee. If your unit does not require or no longer requires bus transportation, please email transportationrequest@okinawa.usmc-mccs.org informing Motor Transportation that services are not required.

Download the Transportation Request Form.

Fundraising

MCIPAC Marine Corps Birthday Ball Fundraising Information

Units may conduct approved fundraising activities to support the social portion of their Marine Corps Birthday Ball, including dinner, refreshments, favors, music, and related activities.

Before Conducting a Fundraiser

  • Consult your Staff Judge Advocate for guidance.
  • Obtain approval using the MCIPAC-MCBB/SJA/5760/1 Fundraiser and Limited Logistical Support Request Form.
  • Fundraising activities may not be advertised until approval has been received.
  • Units may conduct up to two fundraisers per quarter, for a maximum of eight fundraisers per year, on MCIPAC facilities and areas.

Participation Requirements

  • Military members may not participate in fundraising activities while in uniform or during official duty hours.
  • Military members and civilian employees must participate while off duty, on leave, or during an authorized lunch period.
  • Individuals fundraising in a personal capacity must have command permission and may not represent the activity as officially endorsed by the Department of War.

Prohibited Activities

Fundraising activities may not:

  • Use Department of War seals, logos, or insignia in advertisements or promotional materials.
  • Include the sale or service of alcoholic beverages or tobacco products.
  • Include raffles, lotteries, games of chance, or other gambling-type activities.
  • Include door-to-door solicitation in offices, barracks, or family housing areas.
  • Duplicate or compete with MCCS, Exchange, Commissary, or other appropriated- or nonappropriated-fund activities.
  • Use government-owned computers, printers, copiers, paper, or other government resources to create or reproduce promotional materials.
  • Obtain commercial sponsorships for the fundraiser.

Units are generally responsible for providing their own equipment, supplies, setup, and teardown.

Advertising Requirements

  • Official communication channels, including electronic marquees and on-base banners or signs, may be used with approval from the appropriate Camp Director.
  • Posters displayed inside an MCCS facility require permission from the facility manager and coordination with MCCS Marketing.
  • All printed and electronic advertisements must prominently display the following disclaimer: “THIS IS A NON-FEDERAL ENTITY. IT IS NOT A PART OF THE DEPARTMENT OF WAR OR ANY OF ITS COMPONENTS, AND IT HAS NO GOVERNMENTAL STATUS.”

Outside Solicitations and Donations

  • DoD employees may not solicit funds from outside organizations or businesses on behalf of the unit fundraiser.
  • Commands must consult their Staff Judge Advocate and obtain a written legal opinion before accepting any gift or donation from an outside entity.
  • Overseas off-base fundraising requests are unlikely to be approved because of applicable legal restrictions.

Fundraising Proceeds

All proceeds must be deposited into the unit’s Marine Corps Ball Fundraising Account maintained by MCCS Installation Finance and used only to support the unit’s Marine Corps Birthday Ball.

For deposit instructions, expenditure requests, account administration, forms, and points of contact, see the Marine Corps Ball Fundraising Account section below.

Marine Corps Ball Fundraising Account

Fundraising Deposits

  • Deposit all fundraising proceeds at any MCCS club cash cage:
    • Camp Kinser - Surfside
    • Camp Foster - Ocean Breeze
    • Camp Hansen - The Palms
    • Camp Schwab - Beach Head
  • To ensure timely credit to the unit’s account, submit the following to Installation Finance - Unit Funds:
    • Copy of the deposit receipt
    • Completed Fundraising Deposit Form
    • Approved MCIPAC-MCBB/SJA/5760/1 Fundraiser and Limited Logistical Support Request Form

Funding Execution

  • Account designee. The Commanding Officer must appoint, in writing, a designee responsible for the unit’s Marine Corps Ball fundraising account. Provide the signed appointment letter to Installation Finance. The appointment authorizes the designee to transact with Installation Finance regarding fund requests, transfers, and account inquiries.
  • Expenditure requests. Submit a completed NAVMC 11652 for every expenditure request. Any unit member may be the claimant in Block 3a; however, only the Commanding Officer or appointed funds designee may sign as Approving Official in Block 11.
  • Check requests. Submit advance-fund or reimbursement check requests by Friday. Checks will be available for pickup the following Thursday at 1 p.m. at Ocean Breeze, Camp Foster.
  • Internal transfers. Submit internal transfer requests to MCCS facilities—such as clubs for supplemental contracts, Motor-T for transportation support, or CYP childcare facilities—at least two days before the event.
  • Reconciliation. Submit receipts with a third-party signature within five working days after the event. A unit member other than the claimant or approving official must attest to the purchase by printing and signing their name on the receipt.
  • Unused funds. Redeposit unused funds at any MCCS club cash cage and submit a copy of the deposit receipt to Installation Finance as part of the reconciliation.

Points of Contact

Forms

References

Menu

Childcare

Childcare

Unit Representative must submit a request for Unit Care no later than three weeks prior to the event. Please include children’s names and ages. All submissions will be subject to approval of availability.

Those families identified for Ball Care must complete Childcare Registration no later than one week prior to their Ball. Please have parents visit the Resource and Referral Office located on Camp Foster, Bldg. 495, Room 100, with registration packet and immunization records.

Children with special needs or food allergies, please bring documentation for review. Please contact Resource and Referral at 645-4117 for any assistance.

Documents

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