Son of Spam
January 16, 2003 12:33 PM Subscribe
Son of Spam. MRE (Meals-Ready-To-Eat) and other military food rations have come a long way since the 60's.
the U.S. military can now rapidly deploy pasta with vegetables in Alfredo sauce anywhere, anytime.
saddam quakes in fear.
posted by quonsar at 12:45 PM on January 16, 2003
saddam quakes in fear.
posted by quonsar at 12:45 PM on January 16, 2003
Insert obligatory moan and mourn about the obsolescence of the P38 here.
posted by WolfDaddy at 12:59 PM on January 16, 2003
posted by WolfDaddy at 12:59 PM on January 16, 2003
MRE = meal reluctant to exit :)
but it tastes great when that's all you've got, i suppose
posted by shadow45 at 1:40 PM on January 16, 2003
but it tastes great when that's all you've got, i suppose
posted by shadow45 at 1:40 PM on January 16, 2003
Please stay away from the pork BBQ one they made. I tried one a couple years back - I still vivdly remember the smell, and the taste. There went my apetite for supper...
posted by fijiwriter at 2:03 PM on January 16, 2003
posted by fijiwriter at 2:03 PM on January 16, 2003
Meals Rejected by Everyone.
It was better if you ate them in the dark. You would just rip the top off and suck the food right out of the foil pouch, because usually your hands were so nasty with camouflage and dirt that you don't want to get any on your food.
mmmmm...good times.
posted by stupidcomputernickname at 5:56 PM on January 16, 2003
It was better if you ate them in the dark. You would just rip the top off and suck the food right out of the foil pouch, because usually your hands were so nasty with camouflage and dirt that you don't want to get any on your food.
mmmmm...good times.
posted by stupidcomputernickname at 5:56 PM on January 16, 2003
Meal, Ready to Excrete.
If you hunt around on the Web or at surplus stores, you can usually find sampler cases -- be aware that this stuff isn't intended for anything but to get the maximum calories in the minimum volume for convenient storage and handling in the field. They're outstanding for camping, especially with Cub Scouts who think they're just too cool.
Are any MeFi folks old enough to remember C rats (if WolfDaddy remembers the P-38 can opener, he probably does) and the WWII - era five-in-ones and K rats? Also, anybody out there ever eat Hershey Tropical Chocolate? Strange stuff, that.
My dad told me that when his arty bttn was moving through a rear area, he came upon some guys in a rifle company who were getting served a hot meal that included even soup and dessert -- the two cooks were good at scrounging and even better at improvising. and it was the probably best meal many of those poor dogfaces had the entire time from when the 66th Divn went into France right up to V-E Day. Would you believe these guys took the cookies and the lemonade powder and made lemon squares? Sounds totally stupid, I know, but it's amazing what a little extra fuss over a meal can do for morale.
posted by alumshubby at 6:17 PM on January 16, 2003
If you hunt around on the Web or at surplus stores, you can usually find sampler cases -- be aware that this stuff isn't intended for anything but to get the maximum calories in the minimum volume for convenient storage and handling in the field. They're outstanding for camping, especially with Cub Scouts who think they're just too cool.
Are any MeFi folks old enough to remember C rats (if WolfDaddy remembers the P-38 can opener, he probably does) and the WWII - era five-in-ones and K rats? Also, anybody out there ever eat Hershey Tropical Chocolate? Strange stuff, that.
My dad told me that when his arty bttn was moving through a rear area, he came upon some guys in a rifle company who were getting served a hot meal that included even soup and dessert -- the two cooks were good at scrounging and even better at improvising. and it was the probably best meal many of those poor dogfaces had the entire time from when the 66th Divn went into France right up to V-E Day. Would you believe these guys took the cookies and the lemonade powder and made lemon squares? Sounds totally stupid, I know, but it's amazing what a little extra fuss over a meal can do for morale.
posted by alumshubby at 6:17 PM on January 16, 2003
I've actually eaten C rats, alumshubby, though not in the service. When a teenager a friend and I thought we could hike the Grand Canyon on nothing but a bag of dried bananas. We mis-read our permits for camping and headed all the way down to the campground at the Colorado River at the bottom of the canyon. Well, we actually had obtained permits for the mid-hike campground and a park ranger made us start the hike back up almost as soon as we hit the bottom.
Well, with nothing but dried bananas on/in our person and an all day hike behind us, we both passed out on the trail back up mid-hike at 3 AM and were thought dead because people hiking back up the next morning couldn't wake us up. We woke up and started hiking back up and thought nothing amiss til we overheard a park ranger searching for us on her walkie talkie. She led us back up to the mid-point campground and force-fed (not really) us lots of C-rats to restore our hit points. They were actually quite tasty, and I still have my P-38 from that experience, which is the best little tool I think I've ever acquired. I don't remember what the desserts were, but I remember them being the best thing about something that was already good to begin with. Of course I could have been so tired of bananas I would have eaten almost anything else.
[/ramble]
posted by WolfDaddy at 6:39 PM on January 16, 2003
Well, with nothing but dried bananas on/in our person and an all day hike behind us, we both passed out on the trail back up mid-hike at 3 AM and were thought dead because people hiking back up the next morning couldn't wake us up. We woke up and started hiking back up and thought nothing amiss til we overheard a park ranger searching for us on her walkie talkie. She led us back up to the mid-point campground and force-fed (not really) us lots of C-rats to restore our hit points. They were actually quite tasty, and I still have my P-38 from that experience, which is the best little tool I think I've ever acquired. I don't remember what the desserts were, but I remember them being the best thing about something that was already good to begin with. Of course I could have been so tired of bananas I would have eaten almost anything else.
[/ramble]
posted by WolfDaddy at 6:39 PM on January 16, 2003
his arty bttn was moving through a rear area
</snicker>
posted by backOfYourMind at 10:28 PM on January 16, 2003
</snicker>
posted by backOfYourMind at 10:28 PM on January 16, 2003
Hey, P-38s long outlived C rats. I own several P-38s (and keep losing them), but have never had C rats. Learned about P-38s in Scouts and try to keep one in my junk drawer, glove compartment, key ring (till 9/11), et cetera.
Oh, and when shopping for MREs, avoid the "Ham and Cheese Loaf."
posted by Vidiot at 11:39 PM on January 16, 2003
Oh, and when shopping for MREs, avoid the "Ham and Cheese Loaf."
posted by Vidiot at 11:39 PM on January 16, 2003
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WE NEED SHRIMP SOLDIER! NOT VEGETABLES!
posted by Big_B at 12:38 PM on January 16, 2003