Truly International Ration, what would you do?

[rationtin440]

Hey everyone, not sure if this has already been discussed but my memory is not good lately so my apologies ahead of time. I have been thinking about all of the varieties of stuff that makes every countries' rations unique and I want to throw this out there for feedback. If you were put in charge of developing a ration and you had to use a part of every ration from every country represented in international rations, including USA, what would your ration consist of? An actual component, maybe also a way of packaging, means of heating the entree, etc. as long as it is something from every country. Many countries have unique ways and menu items so this should be interesting, thanks for any replies.

[dirtbag]

Japanese rice (trays) and the large FRH.
South Korean entrees.
French entrees.
Drytech freeze dried entrees.
German canned rye bread.
German chocolate.
MRE cheese with bacon.
M&M's
More coffee.
Oh, and a esbit type stove to boil water.

[rationtin440]

Thanks dirtbag! I myself would definately include more drink mixes (hot and cold), eliminate any artificial sweetener whatsoever, and include an esbit or similar heating system, but I'd try to find one with low odor and non-toxic (I know, good luck ). I'd also include the French entrees because eventhough I have never tried them, they seem to be closer to real food than alot of stuff. Definately German chocolate, and use the 24 hour ration concept. My humble opinion is that freeze-dried entrees are good but require extra water. Actually I realized after looking at my original post that it might not be possible to include something from every country, but still alot of good concepts out there. One thing I'd try to include which I'm not sure currently exists in any countries' rations, is a signature-less, non-toxic fueled, and rapid means of heating multiple entrees and beverage mixes.....but who knows what may be down the road; remember when I-pods and cell phones were only on Star Trek?

[dirtbag]

Yes, a British Brew kit would be good.
I don't much care for the sports drink cr*p they use nowadays, I'm definitely old school (and old as well, just got my medicare card today...)
As for the freeze dry, you need a lot of water for the drinks, so what's a bit more?

They (US) need to go back to a stove, and add water treatment tabs in as well.

[rationtin440]

Actually as for the heating kit, soldiers are for the most part very resourceful and they will adapt whatever they need, come up with ways to do something i.e. heating entrees/drinks. I mean heck, when I first enlisted in the national guard we'd sometimes use the MCI can-stove technique and the food would eventually heat up to a more tolerable state with those 1970s leftover fuel bars (make sure to clean your hands after handling fragments of the fuel bars before eating ). Of course every ration heating system has its drawbacks, smell/signature/cooking time/whatever.

[rattattoo]

I saw a couple of responses above that referenced the need for more and better beverages in an "ideal" ration.

I'm one of those people who always adds in some other beverage alternatives when I take off into the woods. Good hydration is one of the most important needs to keep up optimal strength and performance. The trade-off of course is having to carry the extra weight of water.
My own current solution for that is one of the Sawyer mini-filters. I can fill a 1 L soda bottle from nearly any water source and drink, or squeeze, straight through the filter. Conversely, you can flow filtered water into a bottle for later use. This really helps minimize my carry along weight at any given point.

These things are currently available at under $20 dollars retail price and will filter upwards of 1000 L. It seems like only a matter of time before they might make their way into standard military issue.

[dirtbag]

They probably have filters, both squad and base units, but...
Considering the 'quality' of water in the sandbox, I'd sure prefer either chlorine or the boiling option...
But they seem to rely on bottled water, flown in from far, far away.
Bad place to have dysentery (not like there's a good place, I got my dose at the Hotel Intercontinental, in Colombo, Sri lanka.(Ceylon))
That was a bad week.
Here's a hint: Don't eat a hamburger in third world countries, they have NO idea how to handle ground meat...

[elandil]

My honest choices...so far...

Japanese heaters, for sure
French cheese, entrees, plus their chocolate rotating with the germans
German breads and meat spreads
MRE beverage base powders, caffeinated gum, and pastries
British Tea kits and boiled sweets
Canadian beverage bag.
NZ/AU condensed milk and matches.

However, my coffee choice would be the Kopiko Brown coffee from the Philippines. That stuff is the best instant coffee i've found.

[rationtin440]

What dirtbag mentioned about water quality reminds me of something else I'd like to see, but not sure how it could be done. Purifying water that has been contaminated by chemical warfare agents was something that in my military days we were always told was very difficult to do. Actually easier to make water safe to drink that has been contaminated with biological weapons. I don't know of anything issued to our troops now-a-days that would make water contaminated by chemical agents safe to drink, but it would be good to see because even minute amounts in water that would not be a skin or respiratory hazard could still be deadly if ingested.

[dirtbag]

In Vietnam, the Navy used steam distillation to make fresh water.
Agent Orange (Dioxin) wasn't removed, so a lot of people were contaminated.
Probably me too, although the US Gov. says the nasty stuff magically stopped when it went into salt water.......
Right.
Still a huge problem there...