A lot has been asked about what should go into the commissioning ceremony. In my opinion, the ceremony is YOURS, and you should put as much or as little into it as you are comfortable with.
When I was commissioned in '82, the ceremony was pretty much like any other advancement ceremony. I was called in front of the command, and the CO and my wife took my CPO anchors off the collar, and put the Ensign bars on. That was pretty much it. I gave the silver dollar to EW2 Valukis, because he was the first white-hat I saw going out the door.
I have also been to ceremonies that rivaled change of command ceremonies. As I said, its up to you what you do. Some things I have seen incorporated into the ceremony that I thought were pretty significant. Here they are, in no particular order.
1. Wearing Dress Blues, after the CO reads the oath and swears you in, you take off your CPO jacket, and someone from the Wardroom (the Bull Ensign is a good one)hands you your new 'O' jacket. Then the CMC (or sailor of your choice) hands you your new hat. You put it on, and render that first salute to him/her right there, and hand him the silver dollar.
2. In khaki's, having the wife and/or children pin the collar devices (or shoulder boards if in whites) is a nice touch. I saw one ceremony where the selectees son was a white hat. He put the shoulder boards on his dad, then gave him that first salute.
For PO1's making LDO ... this opens up a little different can of worms, because you are wearing a totally different uniform. This may take a little more imagination on the part of the selectee. The only one I ever attended had the selectee wearing his black trousers and white shirt and tie, without any insignia whatsoever. The commissioning oath was the first thing in the ceremony, then his family put the shoulder boards on the shirt, and slipped the jacket on him. In this case, the Sailor/LDO's Chief handed him his new cap, and then received the first salute. It seemed to work pretty well.
Also, for PO1's, some info. On the day you are commissioned a temporary LDO, you are automatically advanced to E-7. This is an administrative advancement only, and you will only become an E-7 if you revert back to the enlisted ranks. Now, and this is only my opinion, but I believe it is shared by all ... you are NOT a Chief, and please don't try to be one. No, you won't be initiated at the next initation, no you won't be able to put the Chief anchor in your shadow box, and no, you are not even an honorary Chief. You bypassed that paygrade by choice, and should leave it at that. Your shadow box, when you retire will show you going from PO1 to ENS. (Which ain't a bad thing, by the way, to not be a Chief. If you made LDO from PO1 you must have been the front-runningest of the front-runners.) Anyway, all this is my opinion, take it for what it's worth.
**Note - you may notice I keep referring to the first salute and silver dollar. Thats because that is the one thing that is unique during the ceremony. You must ALWAYS give a dollar to the recipient of the first salute.
As I said, the ceremony can be as extensive as you want it to be. I've seen them as full sit-down meals, or similar to a retirement ceremony with hors'd'oveurs after. I've seen them done on board ship, at shore stations, and on one occasion, in the ballroom of a nice hotel. Do what your pocketbook can stand, and what your persona dictates.
This may help, maybe not. If any of you other Mustangs have some ideas, let me know, we can add them.
