One of my buddies recently called and asked if I would be interested in a couple cases of MREs he's had in his basement since he got out of the Army. I said of course! I bought them from him and they were both packed in 1993. One was still banded, the other wasn't. He said he thought both were unopened. Well, one was opened. I was surprised at what I found inside...
2x Menu 1, Pork w/ Rice in BBQ Sauce
2x Menu 2, Corned Beef Hash
2x Menu 3, Chicken Stew
3x Menu 6, Frankfurters
1x Menu 8, Ham Slice
1x Menu 11, Chicken and Rice
I can picture a bunch of soldiers having some lunch and pitching the leftover MREs into one case. I seriously doubt it was packed like this. Given the fact that there were three of one of the most hated MREs in this case, I can see this being a box of soldier rejects

. I know for sure that this is exactly how my buddy brought them home from training in the 90s.