Improvements to MREs

<XMP><BODY></xmp>Improvements to MREs

Updated 23-11-16

Improvements to MREs.

The idea of having an MRE Spork/toothbrush/razor that can be used as a toothbrush and razor handle can be improved further by moulding onto it a rough surface that can be used to file toenails or foot calluses.
MREs have “wet-naps”, but these should be of sufficient size or quantity to wash the hands before eating and to allow the face to be shaved and washed afterwards.
There should also be sufficient toilet paper to dry the hands and face in cold environments.
Chewing gum should be of the type that also neutralises acids produced in the mouth after eating. Better still, replace the chewing gum with something that actually has food value, rather than is unnecessary weight,
A sachet of foot-powder should be included in each MRE. This should be clearly marked so that it is not confused with a condiment.
A few water purification tablets should be included in each MRE.

        Chewing gum is a common component in the ration packs of many nations yet its inclusion is highly questionable. I'll admit to being no great fan of gum. Many people who like it seem unable to chew with their mouths closed. I've little doubt that at least one ambush in Vietnam was discovered by the noise of GI's chewing! Even when the basic skill of chewing with the mouth closed is mastered chewing gum still makes you look slovenly, bovine and vacuous. Like many smokers with cigarette butts, gum users are also notorious for not disposing of their gum responsibly and just sticking or spitting it where they fancy. The discarded chewing gum may betray the presence of a unit to the enemy and provide an indication of how recently a unit was at that location. Used chewing gum is also a rich source of DNA and could be used to establish the ethnicity and probable origin of a covert unit.

        Gum serves very little actual practical use. It has virtually no food value. It's value for oral hygiene is questionable, especially when you consider the same weight in a ration pack could be taken up by toothpaste and a spork/toothbrush/razor. The idea that handing out chewing gum to local children as part of the “Hearts and Minds” campaign is also open to question. The older locals won't be enamored knowing who is responsible for all the gum stuck everywhere and to their shoes and the fact their kids now look like Americans (remember the scene with Jean Reno in the Hollywood attempt at Godzilla (GINO)). The Hearts and Minds job can be done better with chocolate or hard candy, which also has the advantage of giving a Soldier a quick energy boost.

        “Most chewing gums innocuously list 'gum base' as one of their ingredients, masking the fact that petroleum, lanolin, glycerin, polyethylene, polyvinyl acetate, petroleum wax, stearic acid, and latex (a possible allergen) may be among the components. Because of standards of identity for items such as gum base and flavoring, manufacturers are not required to list everything in their product. According to Dertoline, a French chemical manufacturer, their adhesive 'dercolytes' are used as a label and tape adhesive, as well as a chewing gum base. Many brands also list glycerin and glycerol as ingredients on the label. Both of them CAN be animal derived....”

http://www.bryannaclarkgrogan.com/page/page/593450.htm#10697

        In short, chewing gum is more akin to plastic than food!

        It may be argued that a packet of chewing gum weighs very little, but this adds up. Two cases of MREs hold over a pound and a half of chewing gum. That's a pound and a half of weight that does nothing. Now consider how many tons of MREs need to be shipped into a theatre each day, and the resources and manpower needed to do this and you see that chewing gum is incredibly wasteful of space, weight, resources and money.
        The ounce or so of weight each chewing gum packet takes could be used for far more useful items such as hard candy, toothpaste, foot-powder or water purification tablets.

         Most of the main course ingredients that are found in MREs could be packaged wrapped in a tortilla or pastry, allowing them to be eaten on the move. This would be simpler than developing separate “Mobility Enhancing Rations”

http://www.dscp.dla.mil/subs/rations/mres.htm

http://www.dtic.mil/armylink/news/Jan1997/a19970127fastfood.html

        Many military rations are based on the cultural concept of breakfast, snack and meal which is often not practical in the field. Studies have shown that Soldiers often only eat the components of a ration pack that they can eat on the move and the tactical situation may prevent cooking or reheating. This means that not only is a Soldier is not getting his full calorific intake, but that he is also wasting further energy carrying food items that he does not eat.

        Many rations include Spreads. This conjures amusing images of Soldiers buttering Pâté on their crackers with bayonets. My personal experience is that the acceptability of such items tends to vary considerably. What one Soldier will relish another will loathe. If you want to Soldiers to eat spreads then issue packets of Sandwich crackers, with the spread already between the crackers so the Soldier can eat them on the move. Alternately, or in addition, issue packets of Jerky. These come in a wide variety of flavours and meats. For further variety include versions of Biltong and Bakkwa.

         Packet soups are another common ration component. While I quite like these in certain flavours they are not something that you can eat on the move so have no place in the generic ration. Perhaps they can be added to the brew kit, with the Soldier selecting those in flavours he prefers.

         The original Cornish pasty was the convenience food par-excellence:- meat and veg at one end, dessert (usually jam) at the other and a ridge of crust thick enough to hold onto with coal dust covered fingers and then throw away once the middle was eaten. Energy bars and the First Strike ration are only part of the answer. The MRE needs to be supplemented by a MER (Mobility Enhancing Ration) or MOR (Mobile Operations Ration) that can be entirely eaten on the move. The main entree can be provided in a toaster pocket, pastry or tortilla, providing a wide variety of both fillings and wrappings. This can be supplemented by a wide variety of foods that can be eaten on the move.

Biscuits/Cookies/Crackers:- a variety of both sweet and savoury types could be included, such Garibaldi's, Shortbread, Cream Crackers, Sandwich Crackers, Hardtack, Matzos and Crispbread. British Army Biscuits AB could be made into a form of porridge if there was time to cook. Hardtack was often eaten in the past with coffee, soup or hot water poured over.
Various flavours of Pound cake.
Energy bar, Pinole Slab, Oatmeal block, Flapjack, Muesli bar. Oatmeal block and some others can be eaten as it is or made into porridge.
Dessert Bars, Fruit Leather.
Trail mix, raisins, dried flaked fruit, nuts, sunflower seeds
Jerky, Biltong, Bakkwa
Confectionary (sweets/candy). Boiled Sweets/Hard candy are a very good source of concentrated sugar and energy and available in a wide variety of flavours.

        Non-nutritional items such as chewing gum need to be dropped from the ration pack entirely and replaced with something that has actual calories or that serves a useful function such as a sachet of foot powder.

Brewing Up.
        The Flameless Ration Heater has eliminated the need for the individual to carry a stove or mess tins. For British Soldiers the capability to brew up frequently will still be desired so it may be prudent for each fire-team to have a variant of the Volcanic Kelly Kettle. This will reduce the individual Soldier's load and be more efficient on fuel. If the Kettle is lost then canteen cups and the crusader stove, which fits in the waterbottle pouch can still be used. A similar device, the Thermette or Benghazi boiler was standard issue for the New Zealand Army during World War II .

Water Sachets
         Aircrews are equipped with 4-5 fl-oz packets of water as part of their SERE vests. Since this water is intended mainly for drinking it may be possible to issue these packs filled with fruit flavoured ORT (Oral Rehydration Therapy) mixture or Gatorade.

         Such packs might be issued to ground troops, possibly in cases of MREs.

Slab Pinole.
         Pinole (Nocake) is made from parched corn. A very small amount will swell up in the stomach to make one feel full, and is high in nutrients and calories, so this is not just empty bulk. Pinole can also be made from parched wheat, which has more easily assimilated proteins, or from oats, to provide variety.
        In my article on Pinole I give my recipe for Slab Pinole, which converts powdered Pinole into a more easily handled form. A wrapped piece of Slab Pinole or two should be in every ration pack. Slab Pinole combined in a wrapper with a piece of kosher jerky and a packet of Gatorade would make a useful emergency ration or various purposes. Fruit leather might be added as dessert.

Field Kitchen Transport Box.
         Used to transport hot food such as stews from field kitchens to fighting units. This is a large box insulated on the sides and the lid. At the base of the box is a chamber with a grate across it and a flue up one side of the box. The box's contents can be kept warm or reheated by burning solid fuel such as wood, hexamine or trioxane in the lower chamber. In desert conditions a tray filled with sand and petrol can be used.

         The box could have poles inserted at the sides so it can be carried by like a stretcher.

         The box might also be used as a field oven.

UPDATE
Ken Nelson comments:-
“I believe that we could drop some of the MRE load and instead go with 1 MRE and some “Powerbar” type rations.(terrain/weather dependent) If we could get some that didn't taste like peanut butter covered sawdust. Most studies, to include SLAM, (SLA Marshall) noted that little food is eaten in the first 24-48 hours of sustained fighting. Knowing that the soldier will loose strength (is burning carbs at the cyclic rate) he may be more enticed/have the time to eat a powerbar/gorp than break out a MRE. Why carry the food if it isn't going to be eaten.”

        Prior to that comment I'd come across this:-

Go-Co at the www.firebox.com site

        “Just one bar of Go-Co rams home a flotilla of Guarana, equivalent to around two and a half cans of clubber’s standby, Red Bull, meaning that when your pep is low, a quick chomp of Guarana-infused Go-Co will put enough lead in your pencil to poison thirteen Jack Russells.
        Guarana, for the uninitiated, is a natural substance that contains several times the caffeine levels of coffee. It’s a stimulant and is often used by athletes to restore their energy levels more quickly. It's also used in the health food industry as a weight loss agent and smoking cessation aid.
        Go-Co, while essentially a milk chocolate bar, does have a slightly bitter aftertaste, so it's not the sort of confectionary treat that's likely to become the darling of tuck shops the nation over. This is chocolate for real men; men with ambition and drive; men headed straight for the top in their chosen profession, but also men who don't have the time for sleep, proper nutrition”

The Mobile Assault Ration
        While the “First Strike” ration is a step in the right direction there is room for improvement. The “Mobile Assault Ration” would be designed to have no unnecessary weight and be capable of conveniently being eaten on the move when necessary. Two MARs would constitute a daily ration under most conditions. The MAR would contain:

Entrée. This would take the form of a sandwich, burrito, pastie, wrap, burger or any other form of food that can be eaten without need of utensils. The entrée can be eaten cold or can be warmed using a Zesto-therm flameless heating pouch.
Combat cookies. A MAR pack would contain two different varieties per pack. These provide carbohydrate for slow sustained energy release. The cookies serve a similar function to trailmix but are less fiddly to eat. The cookies would contain raisins, seeds and other dried fruit in a variety of combinations. For variety there would be different recipes, some based on oats, corn, wheat or rice.
Boiled sweets aka Hard candy. These provide a quick sugar boost when needed.
Toilet paper.
Water tablets for one day. Unused tablets to be saved and carried with the water canteen.

For added variety the MAR may contain some or all of the following:

Beef or turkey jerky, various flavours.
A candy or chocolate bar. Possibly a variant with Guarana.
Packet of ready to-eat dried fruit such as apricots, raisons, cranberries or mixtures. These can be used as desert or as a supplement to the combat cookies when on the move.

Things that the MAR does not contain:

Chewing gum. Unnecessary and has no food value.
Matches. The use of the Zesto-therm means that a book of matches is not required with every ration. This may be a legacy from when K-rations included cigarettes. Soldiers should carry disposable lighters for fire-making purposes.
Spoon. A disposable spoon with every ration is unnecessary since the MAR is designed to be eaten without utensils.
Spreads. Cheese and meat spreads require utensils. Combat cookies are already palatable.
Drink mixes. Hot and cold drink mixes are not included in the MAR. Tastes in such things can be very variable. Soldiers or units will carry separate brew-kits
Condiments. It is unnecessary to add these to every ration. Tastes in such things can be very variable and it is more weight efficient if the soldier carry a small kit of such items that he can use as and if he desires.

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