Army and Marines to give dismounts 7 days of rations weighing less that 10 pounds

[Peter1469]

Army and Marines to give dismounts 7 days of rations weighing less that 10 pounds

This is a big deal for our light infantry forces. I wonder what this stuff tastes like. I never worried too much about the taste of MREs. I just ate them for the calories and nutrition. I never bothered to heat them up.

Right now, a squad sent out on a seven-day mission would have next to no way to feed themselves without resupply unless they were able to load up more than 30 pounds of food per soldier into their rucks.

But that’s exactly what the Army and Marine Corps may ask of its dismounted squads on the near-term future battlefield, especially as multi-domain operations become a reality.



To help troops stay fed without breaking their backs, the scientists, developers and soldiers at the Combat Feeding Directorate with the Combat Capabilities Development Command Solder Center are closing in on a goal to cut down a seven-day load of MREs from 32 pounds to 10 pounds.



And they’re not doing that by dropping peanut butter or jalapeno cheese packs, either.

[Standing Wolf]

The baked beans were the best thing in the MREs. That damn cracker they packaged into the lid of something else (peanut butter?) was the worst.

[Peter1469]

The baked beans were the best thing in the MREs. That damn cracker they packaged into the lid of something else (peanut butter?) was the worst.

At some point they stopped adding salt to the crackers. Only the hot sauce saved them.

I typically had a larger bottle of Tabasco for the field (larger than the little ones that come with the MRE).

[Standing Wolf]

When I was deployed to Okinawa in the '70s, we discoverd some boxes of MREs from the '50s in a closet in the duty office. They were still edible. Or I should say, as edible as they'd ever been.

[Peter1469]

When I was deployed to Okinawa in the '70s, we discoverd some boxes of MREs from the '50s in a closet in the duty office. They were still edible. Or I should say, as edible as they'd ever been.

So long as the MRE pouch appears normal it should be fine. If it is filled with air toss it.

[Cletus]

When I was deployed to Okinawa in the '70s, we discoverd some boxes of MREs from the '50s in a closet in the duty office. They were still edible. Or I should say, as edible as they'd ever been.

You found boxes of Cs. They had cans in them, right?

I actually preferred Cs to MREs for the most part, primarily because they usually contained liquid.

[Standing Wolf]

You found boxes of Cs. They had cans in them, right?

I actually preferred Cs to MREs for the most part, primarily because they usually contained liquid.

Yes, now that you mention it, I was using the wrong name. They were C Rats. MREs came in much later - I think in the '80s.

[Agent Zero]

My dad used to bring home C-rations all the time when we were in Germany. Don't know where he got them. The most valuable thing in the package was the five pack of cigarettes.