The Marine Corps Birthday is the best in social functions for the USMC. Besides the birthday, the most anticipated social function for the service is mess night. In 1977, the commanding general of Okinawa's third amphibious unit was honored by a mess night like no other. The planners switched from the original ideal of hedonistic revelry to one that followed a program that was to highlight the honored marital traditions of the services. A band of leathernecks, unimpressed by the mass of senior officers at the regale, paid tribute to the other services with little flurry. Most of the Marine's gathered saw this as a less than normal mess night because they were so afraid of offending the other services commanders. They did not engage in pre-evening hi jinks nor did they indulge in alcohol or rowdy behavior.

The other services where surely impressed because the next day, General Koler, the commander of the marines that the mess night was thrown for received a telephone call from the Air Force Commander at Kadena Air Force Base. "As I was driving home from your mess night last night," the general commented. "That was the best social affair I have ever had the pleasure to attend." The Air Force general called his aide and said, "Call the Marine and see how they planned their mess night, were going to have one just like it." So unbeknownst to the Marines, they bestowed one of their finest traditions to the Air Force. Of course the air service could not call it a mess night, instead it is now known as a "Dining Out."