New member
Posted: Thu Apr 06, 2006 11:58 am
Hello to the forum-
I've been an MRE fan for many years now. I did my first hitch in the Army '83-'86, so I experienced the last years of the old C-Rations and the first of the MRE's.
I liked a lot about the C's (especially the spaghetti and the canned peaches), but the MRE's were so much better that it's not even fair to compare them. I suppose GI's today would get a good laugh if they saw how ecstatic we were with our dehydrated pork patties and "bean components" back then.
When I joined, the MRE's were already in production but the policy was to exhaust the existing stocks of C's before digging into the MRE's. Most of the C's were horrible when eaten very cold (picture big globs of
yellow fat congealed on top) and warming them wasn't always possible.
The crackers in the C's were round and came stacked in one of the cans, and many had become moldy. And the cans were a royal PITA, too: if you stuck them in a pocket, they'd either be slapping you in the legs or you'd roll on top of them.
I finished my last hitch in 2003, so I also got to taste the more elaborate menus. I'm a big fan of Natick Labs, and am grateful that our country puts so much effort and money into providing the best rations in the world to our soldiers.
Regards, Rich
I've been an MRE fan for many years now. I did my first hitch in the Army '83-'86, so I experienced the last years of the old C-Rations and the first of the MRE's.
I liked a lot about the C's (especially the spaghetti and the canned peaches), but the MRE's were so much better that it's not even fair to compare them. I suppose GI's today would get a good laugh if they saw how ecstatic we were with our dehydrated pork patties and "bean components" back then.
When I joined, the MRE's were already in production but the policy was to exhaust the existing stocks of C's before digging into the MRE's. Most of the C's were horrible when eaten very cold (picture big globs of
yellow fat congealed on top) and warming them wasn't always possible.
The crackers in the C's were round and came stacked in one of the cans, and many had become moldy. And the cans were a royal PITA, too: if you stuck them in a pocket, they'd either be slapping you in the legs or you'd roll on top of them.
I finished my last hitch in 2003, so I also got to taste the more elaborate menus. I'm a big fan of Natick Labs, and am grateful that our country puts so much effort and money into providing the best rations in the world to our soldiers.
Regards, Rich