E Young, F Towner, M McNaught

Royal Papua and New Guinea Constabulary

Mess dinners provide an opportunity for mess members to meet on a formal but friendly occasion, allowing the CO or his guests to address the members as a group. By custom and tradition mess dinners are considered to be a parade and as such, attendance is compulsory except for members excused by the CO.The following provides a guide to the general procedures for mess dinners. Tradition may produce variation in individual messes. All ranks must acquaint themselves with the special customs or variations in messes to which they belong or visit. Units or messes have a responsibility to brief visitors or guests on mess customs, especially if they vary from usual procedures.The announcement of a mess dinner can be made by verbally via the chain-of-command, by memorandum, in routine orders, on the mess notice board, or in a social calendar. Attendance is normally considered compulsory unless excused by the CO, or the PMC. The PMC (short for President of the Mess Committee) will be responsible for the arrangements for the Dinner and conduct the dinner from his place at the right hand end of the head table. The CO will appoint the PMC for the dinner (hence this individual is not necessarily the PMC for the Mess itself). The junior subaltern will be the Vice-PMC. A mess steward will also normally be designated for the dinner to coordinate the actions of catering staff and to assist the PMC in controlling the pace of the dinner or other small tasks as assigned. The mess steward (sometimes referred to as the Mess Sergeant) will normally be a volunteer MCpl or Sgt of the Regiment, who may be paid an honorarium from the dinner funds. Within Reserve units, it is improper for an NCO to be permitted to “sign in” and accept DND wages for this task, as it is considered offsetting the costs of a non-public event with public money.The dress for mess dinners will be posted on the mess notice board or as indicated by invitation, letter or promulgated in routine orders. Generally, the dress will be mess dress or equivalent. For officers not yet in possession of mess dress, service dress will be the norm, some regiments expect their officers to wear service dress with white shirt and black bow tie for such occasions. Civilian members or guests will wear evening dress (“black tie”/tuxedo) or dinner jacket with the CO’s approval.

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