Wornick-packed MRE Menu No.7 Chicken with Salsa

[cablemonkey]

ok I was worried for a second there

[LogDayFreshHots]

I agree with some of your comments on the current MRE range. Too many spicy texmex stuff. I get acid (match heads dont help)
IMHO I think the brown MRE menus of the early 90s had some classics. The BBQ pork and rice, the stews, the mini meatballs and rice in tom sauce, the corn beef hash.

I wonder if at some point they'll start adding a little packet of Pepto or maybe some antacid tablets? Im more a fan of the older MREs too. I really have to think but if I remember correctly, with minor exceptions, the first 'series' of MREs basically mimicked the MCI main dishes. Ham Loaf; Spaghetti; etc. I seem to remember at one point the ham loaf was packed as a wet slab as opposed to the Dehydrated Pork Patty which I actually prefered to eat dry. It was like chewing cinders but seemed to have more flavor. That pathetic attempt of a rehydration pouch never worked for me. The patty would only suck up so much and all the flavoring seemed to collect in the bottom of the bag in a slurry. So I just ate it dry and sipped water. The freeze drief fruit was pretty good! Ate that dry as well. Always stuck to your finger, lips, teeth. I don't think I managed to eat any by the 90s. I may have but can't recall. I know that I kept the packaging. Put all the bags and leftovers in the original case. That was when they were still packing them like MCI's. Cracking a case open was like cracking open... well, use you imagination!

[biscuits brown]

lol good stuff.
kman has a good account of trying to rehydrate a pork patty somewhere on the site. It didnt go well as I recall..

[fdsman]

I agree with some of your comments on the current MRE range. Too many spicy texmex stuff. I get acid (match heads dont help)
IMHO I think the brown MRE menus of the early 90s had some classics. The BBQ pork and rice, the stews, the mini meatballs and rice in tom sauce, the corn beef hash.

I wonder if at some point they'll start adding a little packet of Pepto or maybe some antacid tablets? Im more a fan of the older MREs too. I really have to think but if I remember correctly, with minor exceptions, the first 'series' of MREs basically mimicked the MCI main dishes. Ham Loaf; Spaghetti; etc. I seem to remember at one point the ham loaf was packed as a wet slab as opposed to the Dehydrated Pork Patty which I actually prefered to eat dry. It was like chewing cinders but seemed to have more flavor. That pathetic attempt of a rehydration pouch never worked for me. The patty would only suck up so much and all the flavoring seemed to collect in the bottom of the bag in a slurry. So I just ate it dry and sipped water. The freeze drief fruit was pretty good! Ate that dry as well. Always stuck to your finger, lips, teeth. I don't think I managed to eat any by the 90s. I may have but can't recall. I know that I kept the packaging. Put all the bags and leftovers in the original case. That was when they were still packing them like MCI's. Cracking a case open was like cracking open... well, use you imagination!

One thing to note about the military is realistically nothing provided is for personal comfort of the soldier. I'm not putting the military in a bad light or anything but it would be rather expensive to provide such items like an antacid which even though can lead to some semi-serious health problems down the road, isn't life threatening and goes away with time.

I suppose in some cases it may seem like the military provides comfort items like the tobasco sauce in the MRE's or the gum but I'm pretty sure that's there so someone who can't stand the bland food will at least be able to stomach some of it and carry on with the task at hand.


However I do think this would be a good idea, although I'm sure it's already been thought of by some of the people who prepare and send off those military personal care kits with various comforts of home type items.

[LogDayFreshHots]

fdsman you are right. I agree. 'Comfort' isn't a military term. The motto could just as easily be "R&D-tested, TRADOC-approved, Soldier-rejected!"

To me it just seems they are trying to please everyone. With the military accepting service as a 'path to citizenship' I wonder if this has something to do with the MRE Tex-Mex rage. Just an observation. I don't mind the hot sauce. Lots of that and Pete's Pepper sauce made their way to grunts in care packages. It was quite common around pay day for everyone to make a run to the PX and Commissary to supplement their rations with 'civvie' items like Campbell's tomato soup, Planter's peanuts, 'Steamboat' baked beans, and so on. As for heart burn... I think we all know its safe to say when the first round 'hisses' past someones head the first thing they'll forget about is their ration-inducing heart burn.

Heart burn is just one of those things that when you can't get rid of it life really sucks. For someone on guard at night that can have its drawbacks. A couple tablets or a squirt from a packet of Pepto can cure that in an instant and let a soldlier get refocused.

I saw another post or response, maybe from 'biscuits brown' about the Brit rations being kind of dull (my terminology). Everything was beans or b-b-q sauce, etc. The MREs seem to be getting that way. Everything is tomato sauce, bar-b-que sauce, and so forth. Im sure this is great for the 'youngin's' entering the service. Maybe it reminds them of the microwave meals they grew up with? I mean, Im still a fan of the MRE, I don't want anyone to get me wrong. But its seems to be getting a little 'campy'. The sauce could also be due to low or non-existant fiber in the meals. So adding sauce to nearly everything and making the meals high in complex carbs (which causes thirst) may be a way to help get things 'moving' on the right path. If you know what I mean.

I wouldn't reject a meal being offered... Im not that crazy! If I could find a mother-load of brown bag MREs Id show up with a dump truck. Of course Id let everyone here know about it as well!