Change of Command Ceremony Script for the MC or Narrator

Who this script is for

If you have been named the narrator or master of ceremonies (MC) for a change of command, you are the voice that tells guests what is happening, when to stand and who is speaking. You are not the presiding officer, and you do not give personal remarks. In Army, Marine Corps and Air Force guidance, the narrator also reads the change-of-command orders. In the Navy, the commanding officers traditionally read their own orders.

Start with your unit's approved sequence of events, not with a template. Army guidance tells unit command sergeants major and their staffs to develop their own sequence of events for a change of command (TC 3-21.5, appendix G). Marine Corps guidance prescribes its own procedure (MCO 5060.20, enclosure 2, chapter 7). Navy and Air Force commands follow their own regulations and protocol offices. Use this page to understand the moving parts and to draft clear narration. Then match every line to the sequence your protocol office or ceremony officer approves.

Order of events: what the guidance actually shows

The Army's drill and ceremonies training circular, TC 3-21.5 (May 2021), lists a change-of-command sequence of events in appendix G. In plain terms, and in the order it gives:

1. Before the ceremony Narrator

   Prelude music and formation of troops. The narrator welcomes guests and introduces the official party. An invocation follows. The circular also lists a presentation of flowers to the outgoing and incoming commanders' spouses.
2. Opening and honors Commander of troops

   Attention and Adjutant's Call are sounded, followed by Sound Off. The commander of troops moves to the field, honors are rendered (with a cannon salute where applicable), and the reviewing party takes its place. An inspection may follow; TC 3-21.5 says the inspection may be omitted for a change of command.
3. Honors to the nation Everyone

   The colors come forward and honors to the nation are rendered.
4. Orders and the colors Narrator, then official party

   The official party moves forward to the colors or guidon. The narrator reads the assumption-of-command order. The color (or, at company level, the guidon) is then passed and returned.
5. Remarks Three speakers

   The reviewing officer speaks first, then the outgoing commander, then the incoming commander.
6. Closing Narrator, then commander of troops

   The Army Song is played. The narrator announces the conclusion and any administrative remarks, and the commander of troops dismisses the troops.

TC 3-21.5 (paragraph 10-40) describes the colors moment in detail. The command sergeant major takes the organizational color from the bearer, and the narrator reads the order. The color then passes from the command sergeant major to the outgoing commander, to the senior commander, to the incoming commander, and back to the command sergeant major. At company level, the guidon takes the place of the organizational color and the first sergeant takes the place of the command sergeant major. The same circular says a review with a change of command should not be combined with an awards ceremony, and that an award to the outgoing commander is presented separately and preferably beforehand. As MC, do not plan an award reading into the middle of a change of command unless your command has directed it.

Other services differ in ways that change the narrator's job. Marine Corps guidance has the narrator read two sets of orders. Navy regulations place the orders in the commanding officers' own hands. Air Force guidance centers on a spoken relinquish/assume exchange with the presiding officer. Those differences are summarized in the branch notes below. Whatever the branch, the wording of the orders comes from the personnel office that issued them, not from a website.

Who speaks, in what order, and how long

In the Army sequence above, the narrator speaks throughout and the three main speakers follow the transfer of the colors: the reviewing (presiding) officer, then the outgoing commander, then the incoming commander. The chaplain gives the invocation if one is scheduled. The commander of troops gives the drill commands. Those are not narrator lines, so do not repeat or anticipate them. In the Marine Corps chapter, the narrator hands a microphone to the outgoing commander and then to the incoming commander. A note in that chapter adds that if the reviewing officer or another senior officer present wishes to make remarks, they do so before the outgoing and incoming commanders.

No service guidance cited on this page sets one required length for change-of-command remarks. Installations and commands may set their own limits, and the ceremony officer's allowance is the one that counts. For planning, use simple arithmetic. Our speech length calculator offers 120, 150 and 170 words-per-minute presets. For ceremony remarks, plan at 120 words per minute, its deliberate pace, then add time for pauses, applause and movement:

• 240 words ÷ 120 wpm = about 2 minutes before pauses
• 360 words ÷ 120 wpm = about 3 minutes before pauses
• 600 words ÷ 120 wpm = about 5 minutes before pauses

This is planning math, not a regulation. The spoken narration in the fictional script below is about 540 words, roughly four and a half minutes of MC speaking at 120 words per minute. The whole ceremony runs longer because music, honors, the invocation, the inspection and the passing of the colors take time the MC does not speak through. Time a full rehearsal rather than adding up word counts.

The commanders write their own remarks. If the outgoing or incoming commander needs a draft, point them to outgoing commander remarks or incoming commander remarks. The presiding officer can read the guidance and fictional examples in change of command remarks for the presiding officer. If you also produce the printed program, the ceremony program builder lays out the order of events for guests.

FICTIONAL COMPLETE EXAMPLE — MC script for an Army battalion change of command

Navy, Marine Corps and Air Force differences

The fictional script above follows an Army pattern. Don't paste it into another service's ceremony. Use the notes below to see which narrator lines change, then get the command's approved sequence before you script.

Day-of checklist for the MC

• Confirm the final sequence. Get the approved sequence of events from the ceremony officer or protocol office the day before, and again at the final rehearsal. Number every line of your script to match it.
• Get the orders in writing. Read from the copy the personnel office provides. Check the date, unit name and every name against that copy, not against the program.
• Write out pronunciations. Spell names phonetically on a card for every person you introduce, including spouses, the chaplain and guests. Ask each person directly.
• Confirm titles and ranks. Use each person's current rank and position as the command lists them. If a promotion or retirement is part of the day, confirm which rank applies at which point in the ceremony.
• Learn your cues. Know which drill command, music cue or movement ends each of your pauses. Agree a visual signal with the commander of troops, the bandmaster or the audio operator for the colors and the anthem.
• Plan the microphone handoffs. Know whether each speaker uses the podium or a handheld microphone, who brings it, and where you stand while they speak.
• Tell guests what to do. Announce when to rise and when to be seated. Army guidance notes that narrators or printed programs can help inform spectators of appropriate responses.
• Prepare for weather and venue changes. Keep an approved indoor or shortened version if the command has one. Do not improvise a new sequence on the spot.
• Keep a clean copy. Print the script in large type, with page numbers, and bring a spare.

Sources and ceremony guidance

These are the official sources used for this page. Summaries are paraphrased. No official script is reproduced, and the fictional MC script is original. Regulations change, so check the current version with your command.

• TC 3-21.5, Drill and Ceremonies (Department of the Army, 3 May 2021). Appendix G: units develop their own sequence of events, and the change-of-command sequence of events. Paragraphs 10-34 to 10-40: change-of-command review and passing of the organizational color.
• MCO 5060.20, Marine Corps Drill and Ceremonies Manual (copy hosted by the U.S. Navy Band). Enclosure 2, chapter 7: change of command ceremony, narrator readings of both orders, colors procedure and remarks.
• U.S. Navy Regulations, Chapter 8, The Commanding Officer (Department of the Navy Issuances). Article 0807: relieving procedures, orders of detachment and orders of relief.
• “CENSECFOR Welcomes New CO,” Naval Education and Training Command, 23 July 2024. Describes the reading of orders and the “I relieve you” / “I stand relieved” exchange.
• DAFPAM 34-1203, Drill and Ceremonies (Department of the Air Force, 13 September 2022). Section 7D, change of command: the order is read, then the flag or guidon is exchanged.
• “232d Medical Battalion welcomes new commander,” U.S. Army. An Army battalion account of the colors passing from the command sergeant major through both commanders and the reviewing officer.

Frequently asked questions