The Association of the U.S. Army and Operation Deploy Your Dress have teamed up again for the fourth annual Operation Deploy Your Dress D.C. pop-up event.

The event will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sept. 11 at AUSA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. It is open to all military or dependent ID card holders, but registration is required here. AUSA members with a military or dependent ID can take advantage of a special time slot from 8–8:45 a.m.

Registered participants will receive two free gowns and one accessory.

Operation Deploy Your Dress was founded in late 2015 at Fort Bliss, Texas, when a group of military spouses organized a dress swap to lessen the cost of formal wear for holiday balls. The idea quickly grew into an organization run by dozens of volunteers, offering gently used dresses and accessories to military members and dependents.

The group now has 10 shops across the U.S. and one in Germany, according to its website.

AUSA last hosted a pop-up event in April 2019, and AUSA and Operation Deploy Your Dress have worked together since 2017.

The Operation Deploy Your Dress pop-up event is all about passing on Army traditions, said Holly Dailey, AUSA’s  Family Readiness director.

“AUSA and ODYD have been teaming up together since 2017,” Dailey said. “Through our pop-up events here at the AUSA headquarters and throughout our chapter relationships, together we help our military families maintain and pass on our Army traditions.”

Yvonne Coombes, CEO and co-founder of Operation Deploy Your Dress and an Army spouse for over 20 years, said she wanted to ensure that military families could experience the camaraderie and tradition associated with military balls without worrying about how much they cost. 

“It wasn't that people weren't showing up because they didn't want to go. … It was expensive,” Coombes told Dailey on a recent AUSA podcast. “Between the ball tickets, the babysitter, the dress, the hair, the makeup … it all added up. For a lot of families, it was just too expensive, so we thought if we could take a part of that cost away, then people would come.”

Dailey added that she is grateful for how AUSA and Operation Deploy Your Dress have worked together to support military families.

“Well, I can say that we are wholeheartedly grateful that you are part of the AUSA family,” Dailey said on the podcast. “When ODYD and AUSA are together and supporting our families, it's a win-win all the way around.”