Navy , Army and Air Force Institutes The Navy , Army and Air Force Institutes ( NAAFI ) ( ) is an organisation created by the British government in 1921 to run recreational establishments needed by the British Armed Forces , and to sell goods to servicemen and their families . It runs clubs , bars , shops , supermarkets , launderette s , restaurants , cafés and other facilities on most British military bases and also canteens on board Royal Navy ships . Commissioned officer s are not usually supposed to use the NAAFI clubs and bars , since their mess es 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 . NCS personnel can similarly volunteer to join the Royal Navy when it goes on active service . Petty Officer John Steven Leake , NCS canteen manager in HMS " Ardent " , was awarded the Distinguished Service Medal ( DSM ) in the 1982 Falklands War for his courage while manning a machine gun . Foundation . Prior to 1914 , each unit ran its own canteen , mostly contracted out to private firms . In Victorian times they had a reputation for being expensive , corrupt , unpleasant , and selling inferior goods . In 1894 , three Army officers founded the Canteen and Mess Co - operative Society , which improved the situation immensely . It bought canteen goods in bulk and sold them on to the regimental canteens . During the First World War the Expeditionary Force Canteens were created for service overseas , run by uniformed members of the Army Service Corps and absorbing the Canteen and Mess Co - operative Society . On 1 January 1917 the Army Canteen Committee was created to take over canteens at home , later becoming the Navy and Army Canteen Board . In 1919 this also took over the Expeditionary Force Canteens . On 1 January 1921 the Navy and Army Canteen Board formed the nucleus of the NAAFI . Second World War . The NAAFI ' s greatest contribution was during the Second World War . The Chairman & CEO during the war years was Sir Lancelot Royle and by April 1944 the NAAFI ran 7 , 000 canteens and had 96 , 000 personnel ( expanded from fewer than 600 canteens and 4 , 000 personnel in 1939 ) . It also controlled ENSA , the forces entertainment organisation . In the 1940 Battle of France alone , the EFI had nearly 3 , 000 personnel and 230 canteens . Male EFI personnel were members of the Royal Army Service Corps until 1965 , then the Royal Army Ordnance Corps . Since 1993 they have been members of the Royal Logistic Corps . Female personnel were members of the Auxiliary Territorial Service until 1949 , then the Women ' s Royal Army Corps until 1992 , when they joined the RAOC ( and later the RLC ) . NAAFI in British culture . In addition to being the name of the Institute , NAAFI is also used in British service talk as a noun for a type of break , i . e . a " NAAFI break " - which means short break or tea break .