Brown Bag Menu Question

Discussions about US MREs and other US rations
ViperGTS
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Re: Brown Bag Menu Question

Post by ViperGTS » Sun Jul 26, 2020 11:40 am

Kays1968 wrote:
Tue Jul 21, 2020 10:17 am

Sorry about the poor picture quality, the dark bags are hard to photograph.

-Zed

I dont think spaghetti meat sauce was ever #10. Metballs and then tuna were #10... that might be a rare find

Your codes make me think its an 82 or 92, but that doesn't make sense either... Brown bag stopped in 95

The spaghetti wasn't around til 88, but it was menu #5 switched to #20 in 97/98, tan bag.. i have a few of them :D

I dont know what year they switched from the green boxes to the tan, but someone else here likely knows, that may help u narrow it down.

You also have the more modern spoon, the really old browns had a white spoon.

You may have a Civi version (the first HDR "food gifts" started in 93) or a last minute sub. This is likely from the Dessert Storm period, so God knows what they did to ramp up production... but that battle only lasted a month and a half.

norge
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Re: Brown Bag Menu Question

Post by norge » Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:24 pm

date codes are 0283, 0308, 0288.-- 1990 ?
in 1988 the big numbers was added to the mre bag so its after 1988.

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Kays1968
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Re: Brown Bag Menu Question

Post by Kays1968 » Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:40 pm

ViperGTS wrote:
Sun Jul 26, 2020 11:40 am

I don't think spaghetti meat sauce was ever #10. Meatballs and then tuna were #10... that might be a rare find

Your codes make me think its an 82 or 92, but that doesn't make sense either... Brown bag stopped in 95

The spaghetti wasn't around til 88, but it was menu #5 switched to #20 in 97/98, tan bag.. i have a few of them :D

I don't know what year they switched from the green boxes to the tan, but someone else here likely knows, that may help u narrow it down.

You also have the more modern spoon, the really old browns had a white spoon.

You may have a Civi version (the first HDR "food gifts" started in 93) or a last minute sub. This is likely from the Dessert Storm period, so God knows what they did to ramp up production... but that battle only lasted a month and a half.
Wow. Thank you for the great information. It doesn't answer any questions, but it really educates.....

Also, thanks to previous posters for information on the Cavalry Store. That one dropped me down the rabbit-hole for an hour or so.

This was one of six similar bags that I recently received. Right now I'm working my way through a Dutch bag (takes few days), but when I'm done I'll check out the other 5 from this set and see if there are any similar discrepancies.

Also, FWIW, this group of six bags was, externally at least, kinda sketchy looking. They all have a somewhat mildewy smell, and some dirty deposits on the bag exteriors. I didn't really have any high expectations for any of them. This bag was already opened, so I took the opportunity to check it out, but didn't get many pics. I have to say, though, that everything was in excellent condition, all things considered. In particular, the items that usually indicate problems were perfect. The tabasco was still full, liquid, and not too off-color. I had a perfect cup of coffee, complete with creamer and sugar. The cheese spread was slightly darkened and a bit dry, though not much, and while I didn't eat it, it didn't smell bad. Only a little more "aged" than normal. Most significantly, the chocolate nut cake still had light-colored nuts that did not trigger any weird feelings on my tongue. I didn't eat more than the first bite, which I regret, but as an indicator I am going to address the remaining five bags with a little more of an open mind.....

-Zed

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Kays1968
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Re: Brown Bag Menu Question

Post by Kays1968 » Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:44 pm

norge wrote:
Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:24 pm
date codes are 0283, 0308, 0288.-- 1990 ?
in 1988 the big numbers was added to the mre bag so its after 1988.
That's what I was assuming, a 30 year-old ration. I'm no expert, though.

What do you mean by "big numbers"? How were the date codes printed prior to 1988?

Thank you for the info!

-Zed

ViperGTS
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Re: Brown Bag Menu Question

Post by ViperGTS » Sun Jul 26, 2020 2:56 pm

Lol, glad to help... and I just did a vid review on a musty 81... 99% horrible... but i might have got the year wrong. I took my best educated guess, but I'm good at screwing up

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Kays1968
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Re: Brown Bag Menu Question

Post by Kays1968 » Sun Jul 26, 2020 5:45 pm

Just a quick random grab from the remaining five... legit menu 11- Chicken and rice.
IMG_20200726_174234.jpg

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Kays1968
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Re: Brown Bag Menu Question

Post by Kays1968 » Sun Jul 26, 2020 5:54 pm

Again, legit menu 9- meatballs w/ tomato sauce
IMG_20200726_175021.jpg
This was the second of the six that was already opened, and all of the components conform to the 1990 menu listing.

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Kays1968
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Re: Brown Bag Menu Question

Post by Kays1968 » Sun Jul 26, 2020 5:57 pm

Menu #4- Omelet with ham. Still accurate.
IMG_20200726_175555.jpg

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Kays1968
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Re: Brown Bag Menu Question

Post by Kays1968 » Sun Jul 26, 2020 6:00 pm

Menu #8- Ham slice. Accurate.
IMG_20200726_175839.jpg

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Kays1968
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Re: Brown Bag Menu Question

Post by Kays1968 » Sun Jul 26, 2020 6:13 pm

And, finally, menu #1. Pork w/ rice in BBQ sauce. Also accurate. This bag, like all of the six, was a little crusty and did not want to photograph well.
IMG_20200726_180219.jpg
So, it appears that the first bag, the spaghetti with meat sauce. labelled as menu #10, is the only aberrant menu of the six received. I still don't have a definitive explanation, but it appears that the other five are right in line with the offerings from 1990. Also, looking at the menu lists on this site, it appears that the main is the only item in this menu that is different.

1990 Menu 5:
Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce TS 8oz
Maple Nut Cake
Cheese spread
Crackers
Bev Base
Spoon
Acc Pkt B

1990 Menu 10:
Tuna w/ Noodles TS 8oz
Choc Nut Cake
Cheese spread
Cracker
Bev Base
Spoon
Acc Pkt B

What I actually got: "Menu 10"
Spaghetti w/ Meat Sauce
Choc Nut Cake
Cheese spread
Cracker
Bev Base
Spoon
Acc Pkt B

It appears to me that this might be a simple case of substitution. Only the main is different. So I'm going to call this mystery solved barring further information....

-Zed

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