Thanks for your photos and information ! It is amazing how the shape of flatware changes in the Dining Packets through the time .Imon wrote: I have the same one spoon (photo : spoon). I cant remember where from. But I dont think its out of a MRE.
If this kind of spoon has been in dark brown MREs then I must have more than this one because I had realy a lot of the dark brown MREs in the past...
I think its out of a commercial food paket e.g.GA Sun Meadow or another company which supports the Army with food.
I took a look at my basement for other spoons and found:
dining packets out of a small cardboard box with fork and knife, marking "NIB 39083"(photo 2: packet fork.knife.spoon) I guess out of a former group ration.
and one dining packet "Type II" with tan/sand spoon,fork,knife and other things.surprising is the original sugar packet like those in the MRE Acces.Packets. (photo : Dining Packet Type II)This kind of dining packet is from the late 80s/early 90s,maybe also out of a former group ration
DangerousDave wrote:I remember being trained to use an MRE spoon, to set up a Claymore mine, trip-wire activated, in the early '1980's.
Very interesting ! Thanks for that display that shows a very strange use for a ration spoon!Richard w. wrote:Hi Dave- Yes, I remember that technique for setting Claymores with a tripwire, too. I was also US Army in the early 80s.
I found it in an old manual that I kept (FM 21-75, "Combat Skills of the Soldier"). The manual is dated 1984, but they are still calling it a "C Ration spoon". I recall that we were still eating the existing stocks of C Rats about half the time, and getting the "new" brown bag MREs the rest of the time. Same white spoon in both.
I've scanned the relevant pages for old times' sake. To summarize it, a Claymore's blasting cap is set to detonate by a battery. The plastic spoon is nonconductive, so its used in conjunction with a clothespin to keep two wires from touching and completing the circuit. A tripwire pulls the spoon out of the way to detonate the mine.
Thanks for the photo ! The brown spoon has really the same shape as “my” white one . Never seen that before! Also from MRE?? The green and tan flatware I also know from group rations!norge wrote: the green and sand sets are from ugr/t rat kits.
cheers ken
So long mreheater72