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In one of my favorite book I found something about MREs. I like to read about the Cold War era and especially about the US military. I don't tell the title because I don't want trouble because of the copyrights. If they apply in this case...I don't know. Remove the pics if necessary.I won't be angry
This is from another book:

I have to question that second source, one MRE does not provide 3,000 calories.... I can't believe that they only give the soldiers attending Ranger school one MRE though, seems like you would at least need 3. But I know from second hand accounts they do in fact give you only 1-2 MRE's per day when you are out training, its part of the training.

Please note, on the second picture they also pretend, that the pouches discard toxics into the water they are boiled in.
I´d like to recall the discussion we had about that (allegedly?) rat repellent. but they are also wrong with that 3.000 kcal...

I noticed a couple things about the info in the first book: first off I'm not sure how they got the idea that the MREs were all freeze-dried stuff, the only freeze-dried type stuff I recall were the early MRE fruit and the beef patty. Also I'm not sure exactly what they meant by "empty calories," but the info was very interesting. I also enjoy reading about cold war history, especially stuff about AT&T bunkers. Another thing I noticed; the MCIs may have been easier to carry (I was on an ambulance crew anyway so not a real issue for me), but when we got our first MREs it was like we died and went to heaven----I liked quite a few of the MCIs, but they just did not compare to the MREs, for the most part anyway. Sorry to be long-winded here housil.

housil wrote:Please note, on the second picture they also pretend, that the pouches discard toxics into the water they are boiled in.
I´d like to recall the discussion we had about that (allegedly?) rat repellent. but they are also wrong with that 3.000 kcal...

I noticed it when I first read it. That's why I posted the pic This book is for the average people and I bought it because I like everything about Reforger,Fulda Gap,Iron Curtain etc.

cavguy wrote:I have to question that second source, one MRE does not provide 3,000 calories.... I can't believe that they only give the soldiers attending Ranger school one MRE though, seems like you would at least need 3. But I know from second hand accounts they do in fact give you only 1-2 MRE's per day when you are out training, its part of the training.

I'm very interested in the topic of military training especially from the physical point of view (effect on the body and mind,training methods). I have an article somewhere on my comp. in which a ranger says that some soldiers ( I don't remember the percentage) develop such a "food crave" after completing the Ranger Course that they can't live a normal life and need psychiatric help to get rid of their problem.They want to eat all day...
During the Florida Phase in summer the soldiers get ONE MRE per day and in winter they get two. I can't imagine how they can struggle trough the swamps carrying lots of weight with so little food... That gives You mental toughness The human body is unbelievable.
I have experienced similar torture several times (because of the shitty jobs I could get) and I liked the challenge (I train almost on a daily basis anyway) but I knew it's not good for my health...

Ok this is becoming an interesting discussion, another reason I love MRE forums. (no sarcasm despite how it may look), I really do learn so much on here. I recall reading stuff about the LRRP rations and MCIs in Vietnam and how when soldiers were eating two and three MCIs a day they were actually losing energy because there were so many empty carbs in both, plus the LRRP rations needed alot of water to even make them edible. MREs filled a gap that defense department nutritionists and Natick Labs people felt was needed, but I'm not sure how totally better they really are since I've also read stuff about soldiers in Afghanistan losing weight while consuming 3 MREs every day when they are not in near proximity to dining halls/mess facilities. Anyone could list a bunch of advantages of the MREs over the MCIs and LRRP rations, but unfortunately alot of these advantages seem to me to be more about the convenience of carrying/prepping (according to many) and the variety of food, not necessarily any real improvement in the caloric and other essential stuff to keep soldiers going.

My mistake guys, I meant to say so many empty calories in the LRRP rations and MCIs that U.S. troops were eating in Vietnam; actually the two foods were probably loaded with carbs, which any nutritionist will tell you was a big part of the problem, and may still be with the MREs. Thanks for putting up with me!

rationtin440 wrote:My mistake guys, I meant to say so many empty calories in the LRRP rations and MCIs that U.S. troops were eating in Vietnam; actually the two foods were probably loaded with carbs, which any nutritionist will tell you was a big part of the problem, and may still be with the MREs. Thanks for putting up with me!

Yes,empty calories are basically from sugar.MREs still contain too much sugar.One extreme is the Maple sausage MRE which contains about 90 grams of sugar!
A soldier is supposed to eat 3 full MREs a day. There is no way You can burn all the sugar no matter how active You are or not without harming your liver.Another problem is that sugar makes You thirsty and dehydrates the body.
As for soldiers loosing weight.Combat soldiers in Afghanistan operate under extreme conditions.The terrain,the heat,70 to 100lbs. combat load...(I also have an article about how many marines and soldiers suffer stress fracture caused by the load they have to carry). No wonder they loose weight.An MRE looks like some light snack compared to my normal portions of homemade meals and I keep my weight (163lbs.).

One more interesting story.I don't remember where I read that during WW2 rangers operating behind enemy lines (in Asia) living mostly on K rats would loose incredible amount of their body weight.They got so much tired of K rats that weeks (or months) later when they saw K rats some of them vomited from the sight.
I don't know the source but this story impressed me very much.