RE: [HoE] Milrats/MREs(was: Longevity)

["Damon Harper" <nomad74@hotmail.com>]

>Yup.  Let me emphasize something - one a day in Ranger school!!!  One.

   Yep, and believe me, it's just enough to get by.  When I went through 
Infantry training, our Drill Sgt was "kind" enough to let us go a day on 
one MRE, just to show us it could be done.  We all went a day feeling 
hungry, but we somehow managed to drive on.


>MRE's are also lovingly called Meals Rejected by Ethiopians.

  Man, that sounds familiar... didn't somebody post this just a couple 
of days ago... oh yeah!  Me!  :P

 
>An MRE is hard to describe unless you've eaten one. 
[snip]

   MREs can be found in most Army/Navy surplus stores for around 6 bucks 
apiece.  I recommend anyone curious should try them.  If you are picky 
about the crap you eat, I suggest you avoid the ones with "Egg" or 
"slice" written on them.  The rest aren't bad as long as you use the 
whole little bottle of Tobasco sauce that comes with them.
    Benevolent(or sadistic) Marshals for HoE may want to buy an MRE for 
his whole posse, and tell them this all they get during the RPG session.  
To give them a "taste" of the Milrats their PCs have to eat.  If 
anything, it may help them get into character more. ;)
  A case of MREs (containing 10, I think) runs about 50 bucks.

[snip]   The alternatives were worse,
>ending with the dreaded Chicken-Ala-King (lovingly called
>Chicken-Ala-Puke).  There was a side dish or a desert of some sort. 

  MREs aren't that bad as long as you don't have to eat them day after 
day.  Chuckin'-Ala-Puke was actually pretty good compared with "Green 
Eggs and Ham" or "Potatoes Are Rotten", or the infamous "Ham Slice"(no 
need to give it a nick name, Ham Slice is gross enough <g>).

 Either
>a slab o' dough called officially called a "cookie" that was 
suspiciously
>like leftover Christmas Fruitcake. 

   I like to think of it as an oatmeal bar- only less flavorful ;)

   A couple of vacumn sealed crackers about 4in x 4in x
>1/3in - flavorless, of course and either a package of "peanut butter",
>"jelly" or "cheese spread".  A condiment bag with gum of dubious 
chemical
>properties, a package of freeze dried coffee strong and harsh enough to
>substitute for Baron LaCroix's zombie juice, and some various 
non-edibles
>like a napkin/toilet paper square, spork, salt, etc. etc.

   I hate to digress, but their are several Ranger Receipes for 
"improving" your MRE.  One of the more interesting ones was taking your 
crackers, putting on the cheese spread, and then sprinkling your juice 
mix(Kool-Aid) on top. This is known as a Ranger Pop-Tart, and it's 
actually not bad.  Or at least, it wasn't bad the last time I had one.  
:)
    For a burst of engery during long hours in the field, we would put 
the instant coffee in our bottom lip like dipping tobacco.  Tasted like 
caa-caa, but it was the closest thing we could get to a legal high.  
Wired for sound.

>
>MRE's were so concentrated, or there were chemicals in them, that one
>usually didn't have to undergo a bowel movement but once every four 
days.

   If that.  And, without going into too much detail- dry adobe is 
softer, may pass less painfully.  <g>

>
>I'm still surprised that people buy cases of this for $60-$100 on the 
open
>market. 

   Ehh... like I said, more like 45-50 bucks a case.  

 Maybe they are getting the later generations of MREs - the kind
>that was being phased in as I got out of the Army. 

   Nope, the new ones are available too, for about the same price as far 
as I know.  The biggest difference between to old and new is a bag that 
comes with your MRE, you put in a heat element, add water and the entree 
into the bag and you can heat up your meal.  IMO, if it tastes like crud 
at room temp, heat ain't gonna help much.

> The name brand candy tastes better fresh, but
>after awhile they go bad - leaving you worse off if you happened to get 
a
>case that was sitting around for awhile.

  Again, sounds familiar. :P

>
>On other notes:
>
>C rations were the precursor to MREs.  They were basically tins of food
>(afaik).

   And C-Rats(as they were called) also came with a cigarette.

>T rations are still used in the Army (as of four years ago).  They are
>large tins of food, about 18in x 9in x 3in and they are used by the 
field
>kitchens.   Basically, you boil the tin (if it requires it) until it is
>hot, use a can opener and serve to the grunts.  Yummy.

  I think these may be phasing out(which if the Army has enough in 
surplus could take decades) with the freeze dried stuff I mentioned 
earlier.
   I know this may be drifting OT, but I think this info could be useful 
to Marshals who are trying to convey how "yummy" Milrats(or MREs or even 
C-Rats, if the posse finds an old 'cache') may be to them- and just how 
bad the elements are.  OTOH, Milrats may be a gourmet feast to some 
other poor souls.  It all depends on persepective.
    
-Damon Harper
 "But if it be a sin to covet honour, 
  I am the most offending soul alive."
		-Shakespeare, King Henry V 
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