Mess

The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships and commonly mess hall) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the officers' mess, the chief petty officer mess, and the enlisted mess. In some civilian societies this military usage has been extended to the eating arrangements of other disciplined services such as fire fighting and police forces.

The root of mess is the Old French mes, "portion of food" (cf. modern French mets), drawn from the Latin verb mittere, meaning "to send" and "to put" (cf. modern French mettre), the original sense being "a course of a meal put on the table"; cfr. also the modern Italian portata with the same meaning, past participle of portare, to bring. This sense of mess, which appeared in English in the 13th century, was often used for cooked or liquid dishes in particular, as in the "mess of pottage" (porridge or soup) or Eton mess.

Messing in the Canadian Armed Forces generally follows the British model (see United Kingdom below), from which most traditions have descended. Basic regulations regarding the establishment and administration of messes is contained in the King's Regulations and Orders and the Canadian Forces Administrative Orders.

As in the British Forces, there are normally three messes: the officers' mess (called the wardroom in naval establishments), for commissioned officers and officer cadets; the warrant officers' and sergeants' mess (Navy: chiefs' and petty officers' mess), for senior non-commissioned officers and warrant officers; and the junior ranks mess, for junior non-commissioned officers, privates, and seamen. Some bases, such as CFB Kingston in the 1980s, had a master corporals' mess separate from the junior ranks'; all of these, with the exception of the CFB Valcartier master corporals' mess (known as the Mess des chefs), have been amalgamated with the junior ranks' messes. Certain other bases, mainly training establishments such as HMCS Venture have messes known as the gun room for the use of subordinate officers (naval or officer cadets).

Most bases and stations have three messes (officers', warrant officers' and sergeants', and junior ranks'). Many of these establishments have lodger units (such as air squadrons, army regiments, etc.) who also have their own messes. All of His Majesty's Canadian ships have three messes aboard; this extends to Naval Reserve divisions and other naval shore establishments which bear the title HMCS (see stone frigate). Due to limited budgets and declining revenues, many messes have been forced to close or amalgamate: for example, at CFS St. John's, the junior ranks' mess of the Newfoundland Militia District closed, its members moving to the station's junior ranks'; the station's officers' mess and warrant officers' and sergeants' mess later amalgamated.

Headdress is not worn in Canadian messes,^{[citation needed]} except:

All Canadian Forces personnel, regular and reserve, must belong to a mess, and are termed ordinary members of their particular mess. Although normally on federal property, messes have been ordered to comply with the legal drinking age laws of their province;^{[citation needed]} for example, an 18-year-old soldier may legally consume alcohol in a Quebec mess, but not in one in Ontario, where the legal age is 19 years. However, despite being underage, the soldier may not be prohibited entry into the mess.^{[citation needed]}

Canadian Forces personnel are normally welcome in any mess of their appropriate rank group, regardless of element; thus a regimental sergeant-major of an infantry battalion is welcome in a chiefs' and petty officers' mess (inter-service rivalries notwithstanding). Personnel of a different rank (except as noted below) must ask for permission to enter; that may be granted by the president of the mess committee, his designate, or the senior member present.