Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Navy, Army and Air Force Institutes (NAAFI) (pronounced /ˈnæfiː/) is a non-profit retaining organisation created by the British government in 1921 to run recreational establishments needed by the Armed Forces, and to sell goods to servicemen and their families. It runs clubs, bars, shops, supermarkets, launderettes, restaurants, cafés and other facilities on most British military bases and also canteens on board Royal Navy ships. Commissioned officers are not usually supposed to use the NAAFI clubs and bars, since their messes provide these facilities and their entry, except on official business, is considered to be an intrusion into junior ranks' private lives.
NAAFI personnel serving aboard ship are part of the Naval Canteen Service (NCS), wear naval uniform and have action stations, but remain civilians. NAAFI personnel can also join the Expeditionary Forces Institute (EFI), which provides NAAFI facilities in war zones. EFI personnel are members of the Territorial Army serving on special engagements, bear ranks and wear uniform.
[edit] NAAFI in British culture
- The 1950s BBC Radio comedy series The Goon Show often made reference to the NAAFI in scripts, mostly by Peter Sellers's character, Major Dennis Bloodnok. One episode was entitled The Jet-Propelled Guided NAAFI.
- The supposed poor quality of its food etc. caused "NAAFI" to become a byword for "bad". Expressions such as "You're as dim as a NAAFI candle" (i.e. stupid) became commonplace. The later slang "naff" may be rooted in "NAAFI", or at least have become conflated with it.
