Conference repair::reserve_forces

    Re .0:
    
    Well, it certainly wasn't MRE's (Meal Ready To Eat). They are terrible.
    
    Last year in Morocco, we had a jarhead (US Marine) officer come
    ashore to work with the staff my det. was supporting and he told
    us how glad he was to eat some decent food. He also told us his men
    said MRE doesn't stand for Meal Ready To Eat - it stands for Meal
    Rejected by Ethiopia :) :) :)
    
    The old C-rats weren't too bad.....I still have my P-38 by the way!
    
    Mark
    RMC USNR

    
    
    The best field ration was, without a doubt, the LRRP ration.
    
    LRRP = Long Range Recon Patrol
    
    Most importantly, they're lightweight.
    
    They can be eaten hot, cold or dry.  Just add water
    and, except for the spagetti (yech), not at all bad tasting.
    
    MREs, in my humble opinion, are an unsucessful attempt at 
    improvement. 	
    
    C-rats are ok if you don't have to hump 'em.
    
    
    Dave

    
    No doubt I will be the only one to say this....
    
    BUT I LIKE RATION PACK FOOD!!!!
    
    Especially the porridge mixed with the Chocolate drink mix.
    
    Dustie

    The baconburgers in the 24hr pack are disgusting.  And porridge
    with chocolate?????  I've tried porridge with the apple flakes and
    that was ok.  The chicken curry is questionable and the tin of dog
    food we get is indescribable.  Lets not forget the biscuits brown!
    
    What is the objective of a 24 hr rat pack?  Any body know any good
    alternatives, DIY rat-packs etc ?
    
    Dave

    
    	Dave, I think you're overlooking the fact that the rat-pack
    is designed to provide the squaddie in the field with enough 
    nutrition to function effectively. The only problem is that 4
    menus to choose from does become monotonous after a while.
    	And whats wrong with the biscuits brown!! There must more
    tasty than biscuits AB. However, the British Army in it's wisdom
    has doubled the number of menus available to 8. I'll see if I've
    still got the menu sheet at home and publish it here.
    
    					Steve..

    OK here it is. One British Army etc ration pack menu list.
    
    Menu A		Menu B  	Menu C		Menu D
          
    Porridge		Porridge	Porridge	Porridge
    Bacon grill		Baconburger	bacon grill	Baconburger
    Biscuits brown	Biscuits brown	Biscuits brown	Biscuits brown
    Chocolate drink  	Chocolate drink Chocolate drink Chocolate Drink
    
    That's the breakfast part. I'll do the other parts once you've all
    got over this lot. Too much of a good thing is.....
    
    Dave
    

    re .6
    
    Dave, whats the reasoning behind duplicating menus?
    
    Menu A and B is the same as menu C and D respectively.
    
    Our (USA) rations sound just as unappetizing but at least there is 
    a little variety to them.
    
    Dave

    Dave
    
    That's just the breakfast, wait till the rest of it is seen. When
    I get some time I'll enter lunch. mmmmmmm.
    
    Dave

    re .7
    
    Yeah shuurre! More variety? Great if you like dinner three times
    a day. One of my favorite responses to complaints about mess hall
    food, is to state very firmly "Once you've opened up a CAN of beef,
    spiced with gravy at 0darkthirty, you'll eat anything they serve here."
    Supposedly, the new edition of MREs includes some 'breakfast-ie'
    choices. 
    In my situation (restricted to low cholesterol), it gets a little
    boring during two weeks in the field when your choices are 'turkey
    diced w/gravy','chicken ala king' or 'ham and chicken loaf'. Of course,
    it could be worse. If I remember C rats properly, it would be either
    'tuna fish' or 'turkey/chicken loaf'.
    
    Bob Mc

    re .9  Bob
    
    Its not what you call the meal, its what is in them.
    
    The note I was replying to showed 5 different items.
    For some reason, that I am still trying to find out, they 
    choose to duplicate the menus twice, turning two meals into
    4, at least on paper.  That would be like saying that
    you have two meals to choose from, a B-2 unit, beef w/spiced gravy OR
    a B-3 unit, beef w/spiced gravy.  At least those Cs we ate so much of
    had different items (relatively) in their B-1 vs their B-2s and B-3s.
    
    Vershtien zie, Herr Oberfeldwebel? Das ist nicht der selbe.
    
    
    Dave

    And this is lunch:
    
    Menu A	                Menu B
    Biscuits brown              Biscuits brown
    Ham spread                  Beef spread
    chocolate full cream        Chocolate full cream
    spangles                    Boiled sweets
    chocolate covered caramel   chocolate covered caramel
    nuts and raisins		Dextrose tablets(orange)
    
    
    Menu C        		Menu D
    Biscuits brown              Biscuits brown
    Chicken spread		Chicken and bacon spread
    Chocolate full cream	chocolate full cream
    Confectionary bar		spangles
    Chocolate covered caramel	Chocolate covered caramel
    dextrose tablets(lemon)	Dextrose tablets (orange)
    
    And there is more to come....gosh doesn't it make you hungry!
    
    Dave

    I guess what threw Dave S off track, was the assumption that
    the 'breakfast' entries stood on their own. Dave N, does what
    you're listing indicate that UK ration packs only come in four
    varieties, each with a B-L-D selection? US MREs or C rations
    came/come in twelve varieties, but all are dinner type menues.
    I used to pick C rations by the supplement unit (B1,B1A,B2,B3,B3A).
    The main meal wasn't as important as what went with it. I tried to
    avoid B2 units, because they had a package of cocoa powder instead
    of the fruit or cake in the others.
    
    Here's another question, are 'biscuits brown' soft or do they resemble
    scandinavian hard-tack?
    
    Bob Mc

    Re C rats:
    
    C-rats....oh joy, oh rapture! :-) Somebody else from what I guess
    I can now call the "Old Army" (i.e., 20 years ago).
    
    I absolutely detested the ham and eggs.....yecch! In fact, I got
    myself in trouble during our bivouac with this AJ (acting jack)
    corporal (who was going to drill sergeant school part-time and playing
    drill sergeant with our company the rest of the time) when I told
    him how I felt about this particular C-rat. He made me assume the
    "Dying Cockroach" position. You're made to lie on your back, legs
    up and arms up (holding your rifle of course), and say in a loud
    voice for all to hear, "I am a dying cockroach!" for 10 minutes
    or so (it seemed like 10 days).
    
    Did you ever get a chance to try the C-ration white bread? A little
    yeasty but otherwise OK.
    
    Mark
    RMC USNR

    Bob,
    
    We get the "choice" of 4 menu's, with B-L-D and a few extra's that
    will be revealed in the fullness of time.
    
    Biscuits brown are crispy. Some people pulp them up and include
    them in their meals. You get about 5 packets of 10 in every c-pack.
    And they are pretty plain.                                            
    

    Re 'White bread'
    
    I agree Mark, it wasn't too bad. A little difficult to get out of the
    can, sometimes. It definitely was filling! Fruitcake now... However,
    I would trade my last pair of clean socks for the maple nut cake.
    
    Re Biscuits brown
    
    This sounds very similar to the C-rat crackers. I think there were
    four in the tin beneath the candy discs (John Wayne bars). VERY crispy
    and without much flavor. Some guys felt that their real purpose was
    to be used as flying targets on the range 8-). In MREs, they have two
    flat, square, crackers not unlike Saltines but less salty and more
    dense. Class A peanut butter, now that hasn't changed 8-), only the
    shape of the package.
    
    Bob Mc
    PS I didn't think 'chopped ham & eggs' was all that bad, but then
    I liked being in the Infantry. 8-)(-;

    Re .15:
    
    Like you, I always was fussy about which dessert I chose. Either
    peanut butter and crackers or my favorite the Hershey Krackle-like
    round chocolate "bars" - fattening but good! :-)
    
    My time in the Infantry (1/169th CTARNG) was spent as a 31G40 Commo
    Chief....donut of wire under one arm, PRC-77 on my back and an M-16
    in the other arm! :-) BTW, I did remember to pull the long whip
    antenna for the PRC-77 down as I exited the Huey.....
    
    And I still have a P-38 can opener on my key ring.
    
    Mark
    RMC USNR

    Re .13
    C-rat white bread was definitely the prescription for "the runs". We
    referred to it (25 years ago) as "old buttplug".  Eat that and you
    could save your toilet paper packs for the next 5 days.

    I was able to write down two of the twelve MRE menus this
    weekend. These came from a newer lot, easily identified by
    the large block number printed on the side of the packets.
    I would have had a Chicken ala King, but we were informed that
    there some rotten ones in the inventory and we put those aside.
    
    Menu #6			   Menu #7
    	Frankfurters			Turkey Diced w/Gravy
    	Beans w/Tomato sauce		Maple Nut Cake
    	Grape Jelly			Apple Jelly
    	Crackers			Crackers
    	Cherry Beverage Pwdr		Grape Beverage Pwdr
    	Cocoa Beverage Pwdr		Cocoa Beverage Pwdr
    	Pears (Dehydrated)		Peaches (Dehydrated)
    	Accessory Packet E		Accesory Packet A
    	  Coffee (Instant)		  Coffee (Instant)
    	  Cream Substitute		  Cream Substitute
    	  Sugar				  Sugar
    	  Salt				  Salt
    	  Chewing Gum			  Chewing Gum
    	  Toilet Paper			  Toilet Paper
    	  Matches			  Matches
    	  Catsup (Dehydrated)
    	  Hot Sauce (Tabasco)
    
    The Catsup label is really funny. "Eat dry or reconstitute."
    All I could envision was sprinkling a little Catsup powder on
    your tongue and taking a bite of frankfurter.
    
    The Tabasco sauce is a miniature bottle of the real stuff. I
    guess they think it would eat through a foil packet 8-).
    
    Bob Mc

    re: -.1
    
    Thanks Bob.  We were informed this weekend that the majority of our
    diet at this year's summer camp will be MREs.  Seeing some of the menu
    choices gives me a lot to look forward too!
    
    Jane

    Re .19:
    
    You must be a hurtin' pup if you're looking forward to MRE's, Jane!
    :-)
    
    A couple of years ago in Morocco a Marine officer I met said his
    men came up with what M.R.E. really stands for - Meals Rejected
    by Ethiopia! :-)
    
    Mark
    RMC USNR

    
    One question for all of you...
    
    
    Why don't they do a Vegie Rat Pack???
    
    Dustie

when did you last meet a vegetarian rat?

or alternatively, in view of recent medical reports about enhanced methane 
production as a result of metabolisation of a purely vegetarian diet, perhaps
they have in mind the continued habitability of military quarters?

Or perhaps they just want to minimize the production of greenhouse gasses.

Or perhaps the food scientist who designs the packs is a carnivore?

/. Ian .\

    I read about some matches that will work in the strongest winds or
    underwater. Perhaps these matches will help disperse the methane.
    
    I wonder if we would need flash suppressors?

    Seriously, Dustie, a veggie diet would be considered 'special'.
    Ration packs are designed for the 'standard' soldier. We all
    know that the 'standard' soldier doesn't exist, but they have
    to draw the line somewhere.
    
    For instance, I am on a low cholesterol diet. Field rations are
    definitely not low cholesterol. Of the 12 MRE menus, there are
    only two that don't contain Beef or Pork and one that mixes
    Ham & Chicken. So, the last time that I spent 14 days in the
    field with the Infantry Brigade, it was pretty difficult to
    keep my cholesterol input low. If you don't eat the Bacon & eggs
    for breakfast, you're going to eat a lot of bread & jam. MREs for
    lunch, I'm looking for one of three types. For the evening meal,
    their are no alternatives unless you want bread & jam again. You're
    going to get one spoonful of vegetable whether or not you take the
    main entree. Supplies of fresh veggies for salads are spotty at best.
    I guess the Army's attitude is "If you can't eat the standard diet
    in the field, you can't go to the field". I brought a supply of
    'Fish Oil' capsules. I hoped that helped. It was just that my
    belches always tasted like Tuna fish 8-) 8-(.
    
    Oh yeah, I can just see it now. Vegeterian MRE. Dehydrated Garden
    Salad, Dehydrated Mixed Peas & Corn w/Pearl Onions, Dehydrated Fruit
    and special bonus Tofu packet! Yum Yum!

    
    My brother, who works for National Defence and is also a reservist,
    is a 'taster' of ration packs (the experimental type).
    
    We had discussed what goes into them and why. One of the main reasons
    for a lack of vegetables is the quantity required to get specific
    amount of calories.
    
    Canadian ration packs are designed to provide x number of calories
    per day; which varies according to the season.  Carbohydrates and
    meat provide correspondingly more calories by volume than vegetables.
    They can also be dehydrated more easily. 
    
    As a result few, if any vegetables, in ration packs.
    
    Roger

    I must have joined the wrong navy!
    
    Just got back from me two weeks (16 days actually) deployed to Rota,
    Spain for some WestLant and Mediteranean ASW ops. It is my custom to
    refuse any of the dreadful "box lunches" prepared for flight crews in
    favor of self-provided snacks, and whatever I can carry to sustain
    myself during those long hours bouncing around in a P3 Orion. But wait!
    
    This trip we sent a detatchment to Base Aeronautique Navale
    Lann-Bihoue, Lorient, France to do some coordinated ops with the
    maritime patrols folks up there. Let me tell you, the French know how
    to prepare flight meals. Box lunches consisted of long loaves of fresh
    bread, pate, assorted cheeses, crackers and cookies, fresh fruit, and
    sacks of fine hard candies. The only thing missing was the beer and
    wine (on tap in the Mess).
    
    As an aside, I'll say we had outstanding support and hospitality from
    the French, and all who participated look forward to doing it all
    again.
    
    
    Dick Aiken, USNR, VP92

    
    Ref to the vege rat pack, the one thing that I am finding, is I'm
    taking my own food along, or else I don't eat, a few weekends back
    we had a weekend in the field, and I didn't eat a thing, because
    everything had meat/animal bits in it, the next time round I was
    fully loaded.
    
    I saw in a prev note that someone mentioned HERSHEYS, I love these,
    I have a friend in the USAF over here and he regularly supplies
    me with Hersheys kisses and Hersheys peanut cup thingys and I love
    them to bits.  Along with Pilsbury dough and toastie filled with
    blueberrys...yum yum yum, why can't they make rat packs full of
    these lovely things.   If they did, I would be permanently stuffing
    my face....
    
    I must admit, looking at the rat packs you guys get in the states,
    sounds alot more apertizing than the ones over here.  At least you
    always get some form of fruit.
          
    Thats all for now..
    
    Dustie