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I have two armed forces medleys that my community band plays... depending on the instrumentation that is present for a performance:

1) Armed Forces Salute by Bob Lowden. It's out of print but more-or-less still the symphonic standard around this part of the country. The order of the tunes are... The Caisson Song (Army, of course)... Semper Paratus (Coast Guard)... The Marine's Mymn... The U. S. Air Force "Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder"... and Anchors Aweigh.

2) Marches of the Armed Forces by Michael Sweeney. We use this one when our instrumentation is limited. The order of the tunes are... The Marine's Hymn... The Caisson Song... Semper Paratus... The Air Force Song... and Anchors Aweigh.

Obviously, the order in these two medleys is different. My question is.... is there an 'official' order in which the Armed Forces tunes should be played when used in a medley?

Yes there is:
Army--Marines--Navy--Air Force--Coast Guard

I am aware of no arrangement that has the proper order. When I was in the army when just used the official DOD version of each song--when marching we put in a "roll-off" between each song.

TUBAD83 wrote:Yes there is:
Army--Marines--Navy--Air Force--Coast Guard...

Not that I doubt you. But... can you cite a source that would make this 'official'? I've been questioned about this by a person who will want specific information.

TubaTinker wrote:

TUBAD83 wrote:Yes there is:
Army--Marines--Navy--Air Force--Coast Guard...

Not that I doubt you. But... can you cite a source that would make this 'official'? I've been questioned about this by a person who will want specific information.

Ask each service and you will probably get a different answer each time...

The Marine Band plays it in this order:

Army, Navy, Coast Guard, Air Force, Marines

United States Armed Forces Tribute (Marine Band)

One of the bands I am in has played this medley a thousand times (seems like, anyway.) We have always done it Army - Navy - Air Force - Marines - Coast Guard, but I don't know why. We get the biggest reaction to the Marines Hymn portion.
We do the first 4 in Bb then go to Eb for Coast Guard.

Sometimes, depending on the audience, we will add Mickey Mouse Club after a percussion interlude. Reactions to this vary, but we are "that kind of band"

TUBAD83 wrote:Yes there is:
Army--Marines--Navy--Air Force--Coast Guard

I am aware of no arrangement that has the proper order. When I was in the army when just used the official DOD version of each song--when marching we put in a "roll-off" between each song.

Slight correction. The order is-

Army. Repeat.

Their is also a medley known as Armed Forces on Parade, which uses the order of Army, Marine, Navy, Air Force, Coast Guard. To answer the question regarding the Coast Guard being last, probably had more to do with it being part of the Department of Transportation, versus the DOD. It only a very of the recent change to include it as a part of DOD. Maybe someone can shed some more factual dates to these changes.

According to AR (Army Regulation) 220-90 and DODD (Department Of Defense Directive) 1005.8 ORDER OF PRECEDENCE:
Army
Marines
Navy
Air Force
Coast Guard

Hope that is official enough for ya

JJ

goodgigs wrote:FWIW I can hardly believe we had an air force before we had a separate Coast Guard, but this is what I heard the other day at M T C !

Well, you have a good reason for being skeptical since the Coast Guard was formally constituted under Title 14, Part I, Chapter 1, § 1 of the US Code, which, until 1967 (when it was transferred to DOT), read:

1. Establishment of Coast Guard

The Coast Guard as established January 28, 1915, shall be a military service and a branch of the armed forces of the United States at all times.

while the US Air Force Historical Studies Office dates the establishment of the Air Force as a separate branch of the US military to September 18, 1947.

tundratubist wrote:To answer the question regarding the Coast Guard being last, probably had more to do with it being part of the Department of Transportation, versus the DOD. It only a very of the recent change to include it as a part of DOD.

Actually, I believe you have the details of the departmental shuffle a bit mixed up: at the time of its establishment in 1915, the Coast Guard was under the Department of Treasury. It was transferred to the Dept. of Transportation in 1967, and subsequently to the DHS in 2003. Throughout its history, however, and on the order of the President, the Coast Guard (and its immediate predecessors) has operated under the DOD (or its predecessor, the War Department) as a service of the Dept. of the Navy, —the revenue cutter Harriet Lane, which fired the first naval salvo in the attempt to relieve Fort Sumter during the Civil War, and the coastal patrols during WWs I and II being prime examples.

Incidentally, the Revenue Marine (later called the Revenue Cutter Service)—which was merged with the Life Saving Service to form the Coast Guard in 1915—operated continuously from its founding in 1790, i.e., eight years prior to the establishment of the Department of the Navy (the Continental Navy—and Continental Marines—having been disbanded in 1783).

The Army, Navy and Marines were all established by the Continental Congress in 1775 - the only exact date I see at first glance is Nov 10th (for the Marines.) Bragging rights come from this , not the later establishment as noted by Pgym, above. I worked with a lot of "Coasties" when I was in the Navy (68-72) - they were not a pushy bunch

Naval Historical Center at http://www.history.navy.mil/" target="_blank" target="_blank
Air Force History Support Office at http://www.airforcehistory.hq.af.mil/" target="_blank" target="_blank
Air Force Historical Research Agency at http://www.au.af.mil/au/afhra/" target="_blank" target="_blank
U.S. Marine Corps Historical Center at http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/" target="_blank" target="_blank
and http://www.tecom.usmc.mil/HD/Customes_T ... y_USMC.htm" target="_blank" target="_blank
U.S. Coast Guard Historian's Office at http://www.uscg.mil/history/" target="_blank" target="_blank

David Richoux wrote:The Army, Navy and Marines were all established by the Continental Congress in 1775 - the only exact date I see at first glance is Nov 10th (for the Marines.) Bragging rights come from this , not the later establishment as noted by Pgym, above.

However, the Continental Navy and Continental Marine were formally disbanded in 1783 and the assets sold by order of the Continental Congress (most of the Army was as well, though a skeleton force of 8 infantry and 2 artillery companies was retained, so—bragging rights aside—the Coast Guard, through the Revenue Marine, is second only to the Army in terms of continuous existence.

I worked with a lot of "Coasties" when I was in the Navy (68-72) - they were not a pushy bunch

The ones you worked with may not have been. Not all of us share their temperament.

Well, it's always easiest to do "Semper Paratus" last, since it's in 6 (or 12, depending on the arrangement). Less confusing for the drummer.

eupher61 wrote:Well, it's always easiest to do "Semper Paratus" last, since it's in 6 (or 12, depending on the arrangement). Less confusing for the drummer.

Drummers need all the help they can get, but ... no, it ain't.

I may be all wet, but I believe that each service normally expects its tune to be played last. Every time I have been to a service band concert here in Great Falls, MT, the medley is closed with the song of that service. In the Great Falls Municipal Band, we use a medley with the Air Force song last. I think our director got it from his son-in-law who was a trumpet player in the Air Force Band of Liberty.

Taken from AR 220-90: The US Army Band Manual

g. Songs of other Services. The following guidance will be followed in the performance of the official songs of the
Armed Forces of the United States:
(1) Other Service songs will be accorded the same courtesies extended to “The Army Goes Rolling Along,” as
stated in paragraph 2–5f.
(2) In accordance with DODD 1005.8, the order of performance (see para 2–5g(3), below) for Service songs is:
(a) Army: “The Army Goes Rolling Along.”
(b) Marine Corps: “The Marine’s Hymn.”
(c) Navy: “Anchors Aweigh.”
(d) Air Force: “Official U.S. Air Force Song.”
(e) Coast Guard: “Semper Paratus.”
(3) The normal method of performing service songs will be in the above order. However, certain occasions may call for the order to be reversed, such as in a medley featuring “The Army Goes Rolling Along” as the finale. This is authorized as long as the relative order of songs is maintained. Only medleys containing the service songs in an
approved order of precedence will be performed by Army bands.
(4) In cases where not all Services are represented (tri-service commands, as an example) it is permissible to omit
the songs of the Services not represented. The remaining service songs will be performed in their order of precedence.
(5) When performing at veteran’s events, the official song of the U.S. Merchant Marine, “Heave Ho! My Lads,
Heave Ho!” may be added to the service medley. It will be placed in precedence after “Semper Paratus.”

Post was a duplicate. I didn't read down far enough into the thread.

chhite wrote:

TUBAD83 wrote:According to AR (Army Regulation) 220-90 and DODD (Department Of Defense Directive) 1005.8 ORDER OF PRECEDENCE:
Army
Marines
Navy
Air Force
Coast Guard

Hope that is official enough for ya

JJ

Actually, this is not the official word because it is incomplete. The excerpt from AR 220-90 is as follows:
From Section II, 2-5, para g.

g. Songs of other Services. The following guidance will be followed in the performance of the official songs of the Armed Forces of the United States:
(1) Other Service songs will be accorded the same courtesies extended to “The Army Goes Rolling Along,” as stated in paragraph 2–5f.
(2) In accordance with DODD 1005.8, the order of performance (see para 2–5g(3), below) for Service songs is: (a) Army: “The Army Goes Rolling Along.” (b) Marine Corps: “The Marine’s Hymn.” (c) Navy: “Anchors Aweigh.”
(d) Air Force: “Official U.S. Air Force Song.” (e) Coast Guard: “Semper Paratus.” (3) The normal method of performing service songs will be in the above order. However, certain occasions may call
for the order to be reversed, such as in a medley featuring “The Army Goes Rolling Along” as the finale. This is
authorized as long as the relative order of songs is maintained. Only medleys containing the service songs in an approved order of precedence will be performed by Army bands.
(4) In cases where not all Services are represented (tri-service commands, as an example) it is permissible to omit the songs of the Services not represented. The remaining service songs will be performed in their order of precedence. (5) When performing at veteran’s events, the official song of the U.S. Merchant Marine, “Heave Ho! My Lads,
Heave Ho!” may be added to the service medley. It will be placed in precedence after “Semper Paratus.”

I provided a simple direct answer to a direct question and gave the regulations as a reference. Why do we have make things more complicated than they need to be? Lets try, REALLY try to use the KISS principle: Keep It Simple Stupid.

Thank you

How about, let's keep it correct. Many of us on this BBS make our living by performing these service songs properly and protocol is a very big deal. One must make certain that the "only" or "official" way is actually so and backed up by doctrine, in this case AR 220-90. I am a stickler for these details and when I see the protocol breached or pushed aside, which it was not entirely in this case, I choose to set the matter straight. Keeping it simple is not always the correct path to choose. No venom implied or attached, just a desire to share knowledge and the resources available.