A mess is a place where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. In some countries, the usage of this military terminology has extended to other disciplined services eateries such as civilians, fire fighters and police. The origin of the word mess is from an old French word mess meaning portion of food. This word is in turn drawn from the Latin verb mittere, to send or put; the original sense being a course of a meal put on the table. This sense of the word mess, which appeared in English in the 13th Country, was often used for cooked of liquid dishes in particular, as in the mess of pottage (porridge of soup) for the Essau in Genesis traded his birthright. By the 15th Century, any group of people who ate together was also known as a mess, and it is this sense that persists in the mess halls of today’s military.
In the early 18th Century, there were no barracks for both officers and soldiers. Upon entering a town, the officers and men were accommodated wherever loading was available. Unit colors was posted at the officers billet, gather, but it provided an opportunity for the officers to become better acquainted and this developed a sense of cohesion among the officers. They received training on ethics and manners that enabled them to serve as hosts of formal gathering when they become senior officers. An officers mess is the club of even serving officer and member. It is the center of the officers social life as well as a place of accommodation. There is a strong correlation between the spirit of a unit, its commanders effectiveness as a leader and the use of the mess as a place to foster and share that spirit among the units officers. The mess goes further than a place for the officers to drink or dine. It is where they get to know one another beyond the strict professional interaction of their primary duties. Beside entertaining guests. The formal mess nights are organized with the aim to impress upon the officers the luxuries of live and gentlemanly behavior.
The Joint Officers Mess is located in a serene and picturesque area in Kotu, minutes drive on the lane opposite the FUTURELEC building near the Kotu Elton station. The mess has a lot of facilities. It has a find swimming pool which can be used by both adults and children. It is furnished with a modern bar that is always loaded with all sorts of drinks at rock bottom prices. It boasts of a restaurant that produces all kinds of dishes and it has a big conference hall and a wide beautiful lawn to cater for all kinds of meetings, cocktails and ceremonies. The pride of the Joint Officers Mess is probably its state of the art apartment story building. The fully furnished and functional apartment storey building. The fully furnished and functional apartment are however reserved for all type of guests. The Gambia is known as the Smiling Coast due to the friendliness of her people. And the personnel of the Armed Forces, being part and parcel of the citizenry are also as friendly as everyone else. This is why the GAF has a long list of friends of the armed forces. The saying goes that a Friend in need is a friend indeed and so our friends and the entire general public (after all we are here to serve all of you), are all cordially invited to the Joint Officers Mess to Enjoy our facilities with us. at a minimal cost, you can use the conference hall for our meetings and ceremonial functions and the lawn for cocktails and musical entertainment. You can also patronize our bar and restaurant in the evenings and at night. The drinks are the cheapest and the whole Gambia and the grilled lamb (afra) is simply the best.
