Any MRE Experiences?

[TopHatter]

How about sending a few of those MREs my way? :)
Seriously though I think MREs got a bad rap when soldiers were forced to subsist on them for months at a time when they were intended to be used for weeks at a time. I also think if they existed back in WWII or even in the "Great War" that the troops would have been stunned with the quality of rations that they were provided with. Although they might have been a little bemused at spooning their dinner out of a pouch. Heh heh

[Officer of Engineers]

I've lost weight everytime I go on deployment - enough said.

[Ironduke]

Originally posted by Officer of Engineers
I've lost weight everytime I go on deployment - enough said.

Are Canadian MRE's the same as US rations, and if different, how different?

[TopHatter]

They must be different indeed since I've heard stories about troops in Saudi Arabia during Desert Sheild GAINING weight and I have no reason to believe that these were REMFs, not that it would make much difference in the Arabian desert heat

[Officer of Engineers]

Same idea, different recipies. Not enough salt and everything taste the like same plastic wrap they come with no matter what it is.

Some specialties though like the heavy fat content spam they gave out during Winter Warfare - taste like a gob of fat - it is a gob of fat but necessary to give you the energy in the least packaging to survive and function in the cold.

[Officer of Engineers]

Originally posted by TopHatter
They must be different indeed since I've heard stories about troops in Saudi Arabia during Desert Sheild GAINING weight and I have no reason to believe that these were REMFs, not that it would make much difference in the Arabian desert heat

I was in Kuwait after ODS. Not that people were lazy but when they don't have to move, they rest in order to stay cool which tends to result in a very good body building regiment. You move heavy and fast for a short period of time with long rest periods.

[TopHatter]

Yes, makes good sense to me. Still and all, troops gaining weight in a combat zone is historically unheard of, generally speaking. Must be because those MREs are packed with salt (a good thing for desert heat) and a high caloric content

[Bill]

I went out on one deployment at 154lbs, and came back at 138lbs.

That one was tough, but it wasn't the MRE's themselves so much as not finding the opportunity to eat them.

When you're only eating one time a day almost anything tastes good.

[bigross86]

Ive heard a story of troops in ODS using M-2/M-3 exhaust pipes to warm up MRE's.

[TopHatter]

I read something like that in Tom Clancy's Armored Cav. Hell, if it gets me a hot meal, I'm all for it.

I see somebody hit 17 today...I forsee a massive party somewhere in the Middle East....lol

[bigross86]

Yeah, had a massive BBQ last night and rocking party. Had the neighbors knocking on the door last night...

[Bill]

Happy B-day BR!

[bigross86]

Thankx, dude!

[markaspen]

Went in to the IDF (back in 84) at 180, came out in 86 at 160. I can honestly say that field rations were 20x better than anything we ever ate in a camp. During basic, most of us subsisted on coffee or tea, olives, bread/jam, and watery something equal to Cream of Wheat. Did have the pleasure though of eating goat and wild boar that had untimely demises at the hands of our APCs.

The Orthodox guys didn't wholeheartedly approve of the boar, but that meant more for the rest of the heathen.

[bigross86]

You were in a unit with ultra-Orthodox? I'm surprised. They rarely enlist anymore, if ever...