Is it common for the officers to mess together? Would the captain of the ship be present? How formal would these engagements be?
I wasnt in the cg but i was in the marines and i imagine it would be similar, meal times usually arent formal at all, its a rare sliver of down time that people need to unwind especially when they are on a boat which is an extremely shitty/suicide inducing situation. Obviously military discipline is still enforced meaning officers dont sit with enlisted, you still salute and address people properly by their ranks but for the most part people leave eachother to their meals and have fun with their friends until they have to get back to work
I was in the US Navy and have experienced the justice system first hand at many levels. I can say that the US Coast Guardwould have a very similar system. The UCMJ (Uniform Code of Military Justice) is a great place to research specific legalalities. Officers dine in a formal setting in a different part of teh ship known as the Officer' Mess or Ward Room. They usually dine on china with sterling silver silverware. The exception to this is late at night (around midnight) when the galley opens up to serve "midrats" (aka midnight rations) to the night crew. Lower ranking officers are usually the ones on watch and will appear in that line as trghe Ward Room isn't serving. All crewmen below the rank of E3 have to serve at least a month, sometimes three depending on the availibility of new crew, in the ships galley. The ones who show particular aptitude serve in the Officer's Mess. Month long stints in the mess are often used as punishment for minor offenses (geting back to the ship late etc) Offenses in wartime are much more serious. The UCMJ lists what rank is required to address specific offenses but if it is in any way serious the Captain always decides. For major offenses like being AWOL, fighting, serious dereliction of duties (like sleeping on watch) and the like, a formal hearing is held. The officers are not in dress whites or anything and the sailor appears in his dungarees (albeit his most pristine set). If the matter is to go to a Courts Martial then it's like a formal trial. These are usually held on base with the defendant being assigned a JAG lawyer (Judge Adocate General) to defend them.
