Napoleon famously quipped, “An army marches on its stomach.” And anyone who’s been hungry in the field knows that few things out there are as big a deal as chow. So when I visited Natick last week, I was especially interested in seeing what was new at the DoD Combat Feeding Directorate.
Well, buffalo chicken, for one thing. That’s right, warfighters; come FY ’09 you’ll have a new menu item in your MREs. And I had a chance to taste the stuff, and I’m happy to report it’s really good … and I’m a hot wing connoisseur.
Jeremy Whitsitt, Combat Feedings outreach coordinator, explained that the command is conscious of the morale elements along with the nutritional value of menu choices . “An item like buffalo chicken makes a Soldier feel in touch with life back home,” Whitsitt said.
Since 1992 Combat Feeding has added over 200 components to the basic MRE.
Whitsitt described the “ration timeline,” which is the strategic plan behind combat chow:
- Initial wave eats MREs for 15–20 days. (No requirement for heat or electricity.)
- After that “heat and serve” group rations (like the Unitized Group Ration — Express) will be used for the next 10–15 days.
- Then hopefully things are settled to the point that a chow hall is up and running and “A Rations” are being served. This assumes refrigerators, boilers, and stoves are in place.
Speaking of the UGR-E, Whitsitt demonstrated how easy it is to fire one of those bad boys up. The box comes with chow for 18 folks, and with the simple pull of a lanyard, the auto-boiler starts heating the entrees. They’re ready to eat in about a half hour.
The UGR-Es have been a huge hit in the field. Introduced in June ’07, Combat Feeding had planned on moving 60,000 modules in the first year. Because of demand, they wound up shipping 60,000 modules a month instead.
Now we’ve reported on the “First Strike Ration” here before, but what we didn’t know was what caused the development of it. MREs are packaged per meal. Turns out that special operators didn’t like the bulk of 27 MRE bags when headed out for a 9-day op, so they’d break them down and take out what they really wanted and leave the rest behind. When Combat Feeding got wind of this trend they feared that the spec ops boys might be missing out on some basic nutrients in their zeal for mobility. So they designed the FSR, which is about the same cubic size as an MRE but contains enough nutrients for an entire day instead of just a single meal.
Next post: Taste-testing DoD-style.
– Ward
{ 7 comments… read them below or add one }
Thanks for that quote!It’s literall proving the
new testament verse…To bad ARMIES only feed their guts but not their spirits…Thats why we are in the Ur(east)now…Anyone with conviction knows they don’t accept outsiders…
You forgot the corollary to that axiom:
“…and the Navy travels on its liver.”
Just as long as they aren’t used where you have to carry evrything for example tracking in the jungle, perform close in reconnaissance or areas were smells linger. To survive you have to smell similar to the environment. Asians comment on the ‘beefy smell’ of Europeans, and Africans have noted the different odours of Europeans. Same with fecal(sp?) matter. The other issues with MREs, unless they have changed, is that they can’t be used to make a quick brew and all the waste packaging etc has to be carried by a patrol. The zip and heat system is great in cold climates. Soldiers will still carry ‘jack (non-issue) rations’ and split their MREs/whatever and trade so they get what they want. It is the way it has been and always will be.
“…Turns out that special operators didn’t like the bulk of 27 MRE bags when headed out for a 9-day op, so they’d break them down and take out what they really wanted and leave the rest behind…”
Not just special operators, I was taught this technique in the Marine Corp during Mountain Warfare School at Bridgeport CA. At that elevation my wife’s picture was in jeopardy.
Lame,lame, lame…The only smells you really smell is food and other non-ditinct odors not usually human smells ever are detected…Get a real imagination will ya!
Lame,lame, lame…The only smells you really smell is food and other non-ditinct odors not usually human smells ever are detected…Get a real imagination will ya!
Posted by: reshtet at September 10, 2008 11:50 AM
Food is what I was talking about – you sweat the smell of the food you eat, and the smell of the spices in the MREs is foreign (non-distinct odour) in many areas. Smell lingers longer in the jungle so I suggest you get some time up in triple canopy jungle and learn the art.
You don’t sweat the smell of food you eat!
That would be awful!That would mean a stream of
gas,liquids etc…Basically a corpse smell…