About BAFF

The British Armed Forces Federation (BAFF) was launched in late 2006 as the independent membership-based professional staff association for HM Forces. Membership is open to all ranks, serving and retired, of the Royal Navy and Royal Marines, British Army, and Royal Air Force, including the reserves.

The BAFF Constitution was drawn up in consultation with 50 personnel from all three services. A "specifically British solution for the British armed forces", BAFF did not take any single organisation for a template, but its Steering Group researched or visited a wide range of organisations representing operational public service staff.

These included representative military associations in Australia, the USA, and Ireland; the various Police Federations in the UK; and the GCHQ section of the PCS Union. BAFF itself is not a trade union.

BAFF is independent of HM Government, the Ministry of Defence, and the Service Chain of Command.

As a professional staff association set up to benefit its members, BAFF is not a registered charity.

Like many not-for-profit organisations, BAFF is legally constituted as a Company Limited by Guarantee.