2011 First Strike Ration Menu 2

Reviews of other US rations - MCW, LRP, MCI, FSR, etc.
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HeinrichFuchs
Posts: 31
Joined: Sun May 17, 2020 11:07 am

2011 First Strike Ration Menu 2

Post by HeinrichFuchs » Wed Dec 30, 2020 10:22 am

I should probably start by mentioning I am quite fond of US MREs, and the FSR has been on my "Want to try" list for a while now, so this review may just be a tad bit biased ;)

First up a picture of all of the contents, it included the brown multi use bag and a spoon, which are not pictured. I decided to make two meals out of this one, ending off the day with one meal and starting tomorrow with the other one, as I have a New years dinner to attend tomorrow. As this one is fairly out of date and I would rather not have food poisoning over New years, I may decide to omit things that look or smell.. iffy, if any presents itself. Personally I have my doubts about the nut mix and possibly the chicken. Though the seller mentioned he had tried one of every menu and said there was no problems.
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This will be the meal for today..

Crackers, First Strike Bar, Toaster Pastry, Grape drink, Beef jerky, Bridgford Italian style sandwich, peanut butter and caffeine gum;
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And here the meal is all laid out, a fairly decent late lunch or early dinner, however you want to look at it;
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Time to dig in..
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First thing is the Bridgford Sandwich, Shelf Stable, Italian style, Sausage, Pepperoni and Sauce in bread. It was quite dense, and gave off a lovely smell of spices. Breaking it in half revealed the filling, which all seemed and smelled OK. However, after just a few bites, I started to feel my mouth getting dry, and thusly had to gulp down most of the drink. This continued throughout the meal, and it felt like I needed a drink with more or less every bite taken of the sandwich and the First Strike Bar. I went through the Grape drink quite quickly, quite reminding me of Kool Aid, which I can only assume the mix is. Unfortunately it did not last nearly long enough for the full meal, so I had to bring in some water to quench the thirst the food gave.

The sandwich had quite a bit more smell to it than actual taste, though I could definitely taste something akin to.. tomato paste? Along with herbs. No problems chewing it down, beyond what is mentioned above. Personally I am a sucker for Bridgford sandwiches and desserts, and this was no exception. Perhaps a bit more seasoning could do, I do have the hot sauce provided but I will be saving that for the chicken. Quite inoffensive and was quick to go down. My only complaint is that it was extremely dry, or at least seemed to suck any moisture in my mouth right away. I would not be surprised if this is by design, to promote a higher water intake while in the field.

Moving onto the First Strike Bar, Cinnamon & Apple flavoured..
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This one I had pretty high expectations for, as it is the first one I have ever tried. It did not disappoint, quite a bit of cinnamon flavoured with some apple in the background, a bit chewy but with crunchy bits inside. Not quite as chewy nor sticky as I would have thought from previous reviews I have seen, it was quite tasty and a light snack to have on the go, or just inbetween meals if you so choose. Quite reminded me of taffy or some similiar candy, and even though the cinnamon and apple taste was there, it was not a punch in the face of flavour, so again, quite inoffensive, but tasty!

Crackers came out in one piece, complete with a hiss, which surprised me. Unfortunately, US MRE crackers I have over eaten myself on at this point and have started disliking a bit more than liking. Peanut butter was smooth and creamy, just as the day it was packaged! ( I can only assume ). Though, this combo just added the need to drink liquids, as it dried out my mouth even more, both the dry cracker and peanut butter may have been a bad choice to go with this meal. Another drink package or two would have come well in hand to go with this.

Toaster pastry was your average Pop tart, frosted brown sugar flavour. Quite sweet, had not cracked at all, which surprised me given the age. Still tasted like it was made yesterday, nothing exceptional, but nothing I feel disappointed by.
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And last, the beef jerky sticks. Quite tasty, not dry nor did it feel like anything had gone bad. Very oily, as the picture may be able to show. Quickly falling apart into very small pieces as I chewed on it, I did get some BBQ and teriyaki flavour from them, just as written. However, again, it was quite inoffensive, flavours weren't a punch in the face but rather lingered at the back, giving a more pure meat tasty almost. Not a bad thing by any stretch. Next up was the caffeine chewing gum, which I can only liken to the Hot Tamale candy, quite spicy, strong cinnamon flavour, nearly to the point of being unpleasant. I should mention Hot Tamales are not in my top 10 candy, so that is a bit of an shame. Would have preferred mint or some other flavour, as this ration is very heavy on the cinnamon flavours.

Overall, for my first, and probably last, stab at a FSR, the first meal did not disappoint. I wish there had been some more variety given that cinnamon was quite prominent in this first meal, and I would dare say the toaster pastry almost fell into that category too. While this is a 24 hour ration, I feel like it is designed to be eating as two meals, perhaps with a snack or two throughout the day, which seems quite the opposite to other 24 hour rations, where you have at least 3 proper meals, usually with a dessert for the dinner thrown in, along with various snacks, a lot of drinks and other minor things to keep you snacking on throughout the day. Though I have nothing to complain about, so far it has been a very solid meal, and I will report back tomorrow with what the rest of the ration offers. So far, so good! And delicious, of course.

GunnarTheFeisty
Posts: 324
Joined: Wed Aug 12, 2020 1:23 pm
Location: Minneapolis, Minnesota

Re: 2011 First Strike Ration Menu 2

Post by GunnarTheFeisty » Wed Dec 30, 2020 3:11 pm

looking forward to see what the rest looks like- still not sure if I should get a case
most wanted: RCIR, MCI/B units, IMPs, anything old, and a packet or two of RAFCO soup. PM if you've got these, or anything else to sell that isn't too expensive.

norge
Posts: 1708
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2005 3:57 pm

Re: 2011 First Strike Ration Menu 2

Post by norge » Wed Dec 30, 2020 4:28 pm

nice :D how was the stay alert gum?
i think the beef jerky sticks are made of compressed jerky bits just like the jack links bars. okay for eating but crumbles fast up.

cheers ken.

HeinrichFuchs
Posts: 31
Joined: Sun May 17, 2020 11:07 am

Re: 2011 First Strike Ration Menu 2

Post by HeinrichFuchs » Thu Dec 31, 2020 4:04 am

norge wrote:
Wed Dec 30, 2020 4:28 pm
nice :D how was the stay alert gum?
i think the beef jerky sticks are made of compressed jerky bits just like the jack links bars. okay for eating but crumbles fast up.

cheers ken.
Stay Alert gum was just like the candy, Hot Tamales. A lot of cinnamon flavour and with a bit of a sting, unfortunately not a fan as it nearly started becoming painfull to chew on.. granted I did take two at once. Would much have preferred the mint versions.

Unfortunately I am quite unsure why the attachments seem to appear again at the bottom, I tried taking the attachments out and re-adding them but it does not seem to have solved the issue. If anyone has any idea how to fix it, please let me know :)
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A fairly substantial breakfast, at least in my opinion. I usually tend to go with a very light breakfast, so I have a feeling this will be quite filling.
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Unfortunately, as is usual with cold and/or old tortillas, they broke in half. Not a worry, just makes things a bit more messy and hard to eat. Everything smelled and looked OK, Mocha dessert bar gave off a heavy chocolate-y smell, tortillas smelled like.. tortillas, and the First Strike Bar smelled quite sweet. Lime drink was a bit tart but not overly so, infact quite sweet. Though the sweetest drink was the Iced tea, very sweet and a bit of herbal tea came through. They all seemed to mix quite well, even if the picture may not truly show it. Iced tea was quick to dissolve and the lemon-lime mix was mixed in the bag, first I filled it up, shook it around then poured it out into a glass, then poured some of that driink mix back in and shook it around properly.
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Zapplesauce held up very well, very light color and absolutely no discoloration, tasted like apple sauce but perhaps a bit more tangy and sweet than usual apple sauce. Writing this up I definitely feel the maltodextrine wake me up a bit, a very nice way to wake up in the morning, for sure!
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The trail mix, Mocha dessert bar and First Strike bar. After pouring out the trail mix, I noticed a few.. odd looking bits in it, though I suspect it may be dried fruits or similiar. Though I decided be cautious and not eat too much of it, it tasted like your regular trail mix coming out of MREs, dried fruit bits were quite a bit more chewy than what I remember from previous tries though. Not salted as far as I can tell, not great, not terrible.

Mocha dessert bar was very chocolate heavy, a bit dry but not quite as dehydrating as the last meal. A fairly heavy snack, very good flavour. Not much beyond chocolate and possibly coffee taste and smell, definitely a nice snack on the go, though I have a feeling a warm coffee would compliment it better than the lemon-lime drink, though. Coffee is the one thing missing from this ration I would have loved to see added in, though as it is made to be on the go, I can understand that getting warm water and preparing coffee might not be the best choice to add in though.
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First Strike Bar was quite tasty as well, a bit tart but sweet, tartness I can only assume comes from the cranberry. Could not quite taste the strawberry, but it was definitely sweet. Some bits were crunchy, but overall it was more a taffy consistency, much like the first one I tried. Not bad, but nothing life changing. Definitely a nice snack to have on the go, just as the first one. Not quite as heavy as the Mocha dessert bar, no particular flavours you need to stop to truly enjoy the full extent of. I broke it off into smaller pieces and had no trouble chewing it down, it was a quite nice break from the more soft textures of the rest, which didn't require much, if any chewing, at all.
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White chicken chunks, nothing smelled nor seemed off. Just a smell and taste of.. white chicken meat. Nothing to write home about, but it should give some much needed protein, in a fairly mess free way.. not counting the liquid at the very bottom of the package.
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Decided to try it on the tortillas, first with just some Tabasco. Definitely felt like the Tabasco was a lot hotter than usual, and not quite as vinegar-y, still nothing to write home about, but it did provide some more flavour to the chicken chunks. Quite good! After just having it with the Tabasco, I decided to add in some fat free mayo, though it did not add much flavour. Just a bit of tartness, and it helped cool down the heat from the Tabasco a bit. Usually quite fond of hot food, so I can have it either way. Just wish they'd have kept the small tabasco bottles instead of a retort pouch, no doubt it would last longer if one only wants to use a small amount, but it would probably also have made it far easier to control how much you put on. I ran out of tortilla bread before the chicken, so I decided to just add some salt and tabasco and eat the remainder straight out of the pouch, which was quite nice. A good boost of protein, at least in my opinion, in a easy and quick to eat meal.

Overall, I am quite fond of this ration, even though it doesn't really feel like a 24 hour ration when compared to other ones, such as the Danish, Swedish or Polish ones. Not bad by any stretch of the imagination, everything is made to be on the go, which I quite like, in comparison to the other 24 hour rations I have tried, where some can require quite a bit of prep work, where one needs to stop and actually sit down to prepare it. Though, in the field I can definitely see the up side of doing that, having to actually stop and take in the moment for a breather and to relax, at least if on a march or similiar. The only complaint I might have is that there should have been some kind of coffee drink, I am fairly sure Mocha drinks are in some menus, where one just mixes it in the bag.

This was my first First Strike Ration, and given the scarcity of these in Europe, at least from what I have seen, unfortunately most likely the last. I can't say I am disappointed by this ration at all, especially given how well it held up given it is close to 9 year olds, with most dates putting it in early 2011. I expected that I would have to skip out on the chicken and possibly some of the other components at the start of this review, but I was quite wrong. Unless the chicken gets me in a few hours, this tasted just as if it was packaged in 2019 or 2020. Possibly with the exception of the tortilla, but that is always finnicky. Eating it cold was no trouble, first time I have enjoyed a 24 hour meal in that way.

Most other 24 hour meals, as I mentioned, usually require quite a bit of prep work, either heating up with FRH heater packs, or adding hot water and letting sit. While this was indeed enjoyed from the comfort of my home, I can imagine not having a hot meal while in the field may be a bit unfortunate, I think the fact that most of the meals are made in snack style would help a lot with that fact. Nothing felt like it absolutely needed to be heated up, and can most likely be enjoyed luke warm after having it in your pockets for a few hours, I doubt heat would add anything and the fact it was cold did not detract anything from it. Flavours were quite inoffensive, which I believe helped with that part, as other rations, such as the Danish 24 hour, definitely would not feel right if eaten cold. If I have any complaint, it is that it may not have had quite as much protein as other rations in this type usually have, though I can only imagine far smarter people have figured out the requirements for a active soldier, and that they are all included in this one.

In closing, this is a ration I have been dying to try for a very long time now, and it did not disappoint. Everything in it was easy and quick to eat, had I been out and about, I would most likely have enjoyed the meals out of the pouches, as opposed to taking them out individually. It definitely gives a very nice energy boost, and offers quite a few different flavours, perhaps with the exception of the cinnamon and brown sugar toaster pastry, which I felt got a bit repetetive, though that may be on me for not dividing it up better. The aim of the FSR, as far as I have understood, is to have enough food for 24 hours in a combat situation, with quick, easy meals and snacks to fill you up thoroughly during a full day. Dividing up the snacks better, possibly having the Bridgford sandwich as a lunch and the chicken as a evening meal, definitely makes sense. Throw in some beef jerky snacks, Zapplesauce and other good bits to keep you going inbetween, I will definitely be buying more of these if I can find them, and would recommend them if you're out doing hiking or similiar stuff as a civilian. Obviously, these are made for soldiers, so I can only say it definitely fits the bill of being used in that manner, as well.

Many 24 hour rations do not pack nearly as much snack sized stuff as this, which should keep one going if one gets hungry, but has no time to sit down and prep a full meal, or just wants a quick pick me up. Just as the regular 24 menus, this is in my top 5 rations I have tried so far, American MREs haven't disappointed me yet, and I doubt they ever will.

With that, I would like to wish MREInfo, and anyone else reading this, a Happy new year! Heres to hoping 2021 won't be quite nearly as.. well, bad, as 2020 has been. Heres to another year of MREs and all the other fun stuff that a new year brings!
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norge
Posts: 1708
Joined: Fri Dec 09, 2005 3:57 pm

Re: 2011 First Strike Ration Menu 2

Post by norge » Thu Dec 31, 2020 8:33 am

if theyre big on cinamon flavor im not eating them... to much aint good.

like your review :D

cheers ken

HeinrichFuchs
Posts: 31
Joined: Sun May 17, 2020 11:07 am

Re: 2011 First Strike Ration Menu 2

Post by HeinrichFuchs » Thu Dec 31, 2020 9:28 am

norge wrote:
Thu Dec 31, 2020 8:33 am
if theyre big on cinamon flavor im not eating them... to much aint good.

like your review :D

cheers ken
The gums are quite hot and pretty strong on the cinnamon, yes. Though I did pop in two at once, gonna give just one a chance a bit later, hopefully it won't be quite as strong :p

Thank you!

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