why doesn't walmart or major sporting goods stores sell the mre's that are packaged for the military, why do we have to buy them from people who get over runs.
i have read the links here and know the difference. between the military, mil spec and civilian mre's
i would assume they could just extend their run and sell drrect to retail stores, why do they have to make "civilivan mre's"
i heard somewhere it had something to do with clinton, but i can not find what he said about it. any help or links would be apreciated
does the government put pressure on the manufacture not to sell retail
edit to ad: what weight does the saying "Commercial Resale Prohibited" carry?
new guy with a question
My best bet is that by reserving MREs for government use, the price can stay low (economics really, demand goes up:so will price), also the fact that most civilians aren't as fanatic about MREs as we are. 
It's also just one of those things that are better off not available to the public..having an MRE is a special moment-even if you aren't a soldier, it'll give you an experience of what its like to eat like one.
One thing, though, is that I've heard the RCWs are very similar to the freeze-dried food that campers get.
It's also just one of those things that are better off not available to the public..having an MRE is a special moment-even if you aren't a soldier, it'll give you an experience of what its like to eat like one.
One thing, though, is that I've heard the RCWs are very similar to the freeze-dried food that campers get.
This is one question I plan to ask God when I see him in the afterlife. You know there are some things we will never know the answer for, but as promised when you die you can ask the Almighty One whatver you would like and the answer shall be given. Being that I plan to live another 60 yrs atleast, the aforementioned good Lord willing, perhaps he will reveal the answer.
kman may know. He should be back from vacation this weekend and perhaps he can shed some light on this.
I 'spect, that perhaps the military is like a little kid and does not want us to play with "its" toys, that is why we cannot have them.
Hell, who knows!
kman may know. He should be back from vacation this weekend and perhaps he can shed some light on this.
I 'spect, that perhaps the military is like a little kid and does not want us to play with "its" toys, that is why we cannot have them.
Hell, who knows!
"THEY CALL ME DIRTY...DIRTYDAVE"
My personal hypothesis is that the DOD put a lot of research into what makes up a good array of MREs and what should go in them -- so they don't want them on the commercial market in their 100% pure DOD form.
As Americans we find that odd.. because paid for that research... but if they go on the open market then the factories would be authorized to sell to any other foreign army. I'm sure that could be restricted in some manner, but it's just a lot easier for the DOD to tell the current manufacturers to label their boxes as such and never, ever, sell them to anybody but the DOD. That would just makes it a contractual obligation and not a part of US Code.
Since the manufacturers can still sell stuff with similar tech to the public it keeps everybody pretty much happy. They aren't much use to foreign armies at that price level, but acceptable to the backpacker/hicker/camper crowd.
Nuts like us can be placated with the surplus market it seems... and balance is restored.
As Americans we find that odd.. because paid for that research... but if they go on the open market then the factories would be authorized to sell to any other foreign army. I'm sure that could be restricted in some manner, but it's just a lot easier for the DOD to tell the current manufacturers to label their boxes as such and never, ever, sell them to anybody but the DOD. That would just makes it a contractual obligation and not a part of US Code.
Since the manufacturers can still sell stuff with similar tech to the public it keeps everybody pretty much happy. They aren't much use to foreign armies at that price level, but acceptable to the backpacker/hicker/camper crowd.
Nuts like us can be placated with the surplus market it seems... and balance is restored.
Many companies make items for the military under contract. One in Canada is Recochem that makes paint thinner and Sterno type canned heaters for the civy market and Fuel Tabs-Hexamine for the military. These companies are under contracts that specify the packaging and perhaps product shape and size. For the civy market they make product and package that will sell, so OD everything is usually out. I just emailed Recochem to see if they would sell me the fuel taps.
In general the military sees everything down to the lowly fuel tab like they do full auto M-16/C-7...not for civies! Sometimes they do release product to the civy market or some leaks out through various channels like the just 2 fuel tab packs I bought, or the just 3 overhead protection kits I got.
With MREs and the army, I just think they want to ensure it is not sold to civies and deprive the soldiers. With the suppliers I think the contracts prevent them from selling MRE's to civies cause the packaging is under contract to the military. Many brand name companies sub-contract out to manifactors and it is bad business for the sub-contractor to sell the exact brand name product to someone else without making it noticeably different.
In general the military sees everything down to the lowly fuel tab like they do full auto M-16/C-7...not for civies! Sometimes they do release product to the civy market or some leaks out through various channels like the just 2 fuel tab packs I bought, or the just 3 overhead protection kits I got.
With MREs and the army, I just think they want to ensure it is not sold to civies and deprive the soldiers. With the suppliers I think the contracts prevent them from selling MRE's to civies cause the packaging is under contract to the military. Many brand name companies sub-contract out to manifactors and it is bad business for the sub-contractor to sell the exact brand name product to someone else without making it noticeably different.
He who thinks, is a step ahead.
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BackwoodsPundit
- Posts: 87
- Joined: Mon Oct 03, 2005 1:28 pm
- Location: Deep Creek, VA
Personally, I think there could be a market for longer life food that is palatable and shelf stable for long periods of time - like MREs
Pouch type meals never really caught on so much in the US, but maybe they will now because of the hurricanes - I know a lot of friends who are working on 72 hour kits and storing food now because of the hurricane.
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I could see a store like Costco or Sams club doing a brisk business in these, especially since they already sell stuff in bulk
Pouch type meals never really caught on so much in the US, but maybe they will now because of the hurricanes - I know a lot of friends who are working on 72 hour kits and storing food now because of the hurricane.
=-=-=-= Edited to add =-=-=-=-=
I could see a store like Costco or Sams club doing a brisk business in these, especially since they already sell stuff in bulk
Over the past couple of years, I've started seeing more and more meals come out in retort pouches. Currently, they have a lot of pouched tuna/salmon, etc. (and cat food) but not a lot regular meals. Wal-mart is a good place to keep your eye on (in the canned meat section). For a while, they had a few "Sweet Sue" brand pouch meals. Over on this news link, there's a picture of one of them along with an entree I found at Big Lots:
http://www.mreinfo.com/news/index.php?p=12
http://www.mreinfo.com/news/index.php?p=12