Well, the WYNGman showed up today. Another 10 cases of late-production MRE’s get put away in the bunker. Actually, 9.916 cases since I need to pull one out to introduce the girlfriend to the culinary experiment that is long-term in-the-pouch military food.
From what Ive been told, US MRE’s, while having improved considerably over the years, are still light years behind other countries. As youd expect, British MRE’s are alot like British food….thus they are worse that US MRE’s. I’ve heard that the French MRE’s are quite good and that the Italian ones are also good. The French ones, I am told, no longer include a little plastic bottle of wine. Que ser sera.
Newer US MRE’s come with the flamerless ration heater included with each meal so that’ll be fun to play with. I figure Im going to be gentle and pull out one of the more appetizing ones…tortellini, I think. And, yes, Im pretty sure she’s aware of the awesome colon-kinking properties of the MRE. Yes, I’ve read the post about the guy who made his girlfriend dinner using nothing but MRE’s..hilarious.
It does seem that more ‘civillian’ food (i.e. stuff on the shelf at the supermarket) is utilizing the packaging techniques that were formerly seen only in the military meals. The new tuna, chicken, and ground beef packaged in the heavyduty vinyl/foil pouches springs to mind. Extremely convenient stuff.
By the by, the MRE’s arent the only military food that the US issues. Theres also T-rations which are large trays of MRE food. Each try is for six or so guys. The T-rations show up alot at disaster kitchens and that sort of thing. You can find them once in a while but the MRE’s are far more common. Then theres also the Humanitarian Daily Ration (HDR) which is, basically, the stuff you throw out the back of the truck to squalling third worlders…they tend to be meatless and ‘inoffensive’ (meaning no pork, no meat, etc, etc). Theres also special MRE’s for cold/hot climates, training, etc, etc.
And, yes, theres a kosher MRE too.
Oh, from what Ive heard and seen, the new toilet paper in the MRE’s is definitely a step down. Bring your own.
=====
I was thinking about the missle silo home I mentioned in the last post and it occurred to me: how do they deal with sewage two stories underground? They must have to pump it *up* to the sewer line or septic tank. And that just sounds like trouble. Apparently, I’ll have to build my bunker on a hill so I can have all the drainage utilizing gravity…..(“Bunker Hill”?)
=====
Shot the AK’s the other day. Picked a rock at 300 yards and was able to hit it with decent regularity. When I did miss, it wasnt by much so the AK, if you hold steady and are deliberate *can* hit a man-sized target with open sights at 300 yards using Wolf ammo. We also papered them at 100 and the groups were about what you’d expect…about the size of your hand. I think that with decent handloads the results could be improved upon. One of the LMI was breaking in his new postpostban Arsenal AK. It differed slightly from our postban AK’s in that it had a screw on flash supressor (a rather large one, I must say), bayo lug and cleaning rod. The finish seemed a bit different from ours…like it was ‘stoving’ or paint…not as matte as ours, but Im sure its just as durable. A quick magazine inventory last night showed we only have about 6 mags per gun. Need at least twice that. Fortunately, AK mags are still pretty cheap. I’ve a few of the 40-rd mags and I like them. Not as awkward as youd think and they work just fine. Probably stock up on 30’s though. Maybe get a few more 40’s just for keeping around the house or something.
=====
Remember the LMI that was going off to the mideast for the trucking job? He didnt go! During the physical screening his cholestoral level (450!) was judged a bit high. If he can get it down in a few weeks they’ll take him. SO….he’s gotta do about a month of clean livin’ and then he can try again. ‘Cause, you know, heart disease is such a big killer on those truck convoys. If Kit’s parents wouldn’t freak out about it, me and her would go and sign up for some sort of security detail or somesuch. Hundred grand a piece for a years work sounds like a good deal to me. And all the ammo you can shoot.
The retort pouch technology developed by the Army Food & Container Institute in the 60’s has always been licensed to civilian producers. The stuff I’ve sampled (and it’s been awhile) has mostly been pretty bad. It’s mostly a question of developing recipes that work with the technology, and not everyone is clever enough to do that well.
The Army has a problem in that it has to develop a very wide variety of stuff so soldiers in the field don’t go nuts eating the same stuff over and over again, which is almost what they do now. I think they’re doing a pretty good job when compared to the WWII C & K rats we ate in the field in basic.
Still, tabasco sauce is still the most important MRE adjunct 😉
Speaking of sewage(!), pumping it uphill is common practice. There are pumps made for the purpose for residential use, where raw sewage has to be pumped uphill to a septic tank or main sewer line. It’s mostly a question of added cost and complexity, to be avoided if possible but not a complete deal-killer.
Check this place out: http://www.mreinfo.com
Yes, the girlfriend has read the story. She suspects the “breaking up” part of the story was left out.
Commander Zero, speaking as one who has tried the British version of the MRE, i can honestly say that it has its good points & its bad points, for example the little can of chicken pate was rather good, especially when spread on the cracker protion of the ration, however, the Lancastershire hotpot, i wouldn’t serve that to hogs, it’s THAT bad
The cold weather US MRE is worth twice it’s weight in gold if you can find them.
The heater pouches can be cut into little strips, placed inside a small container (preferably those little metal orange juice cans) have water added to them, sealed, and made into little bitty shrapnel bombs.
seen those on Ebay DG, and HOLY SH*T, they want a arm & a damn leg for those
They’re called sewage ejector pumps. Most can handle 10-20 feet of head. For something like that silo a high head grinder pump like this would be required.
MRE’s have improved, which means now they’re palatable. Nah, I’m just kidding, they’re pretty good for what they are; long-shelf life, high calorie, complete meals for the soldier on the go.
British rations are teh heat. When I was in Afghanistan (actually K-2 before it was publicly acknowledged) a section in my unit had a pile of brit rations, the Lancashire Hotpot was just yummy and I made frequent occasion to plunder their pile of culinary swag–the beans and bacon are another good entree.
I can speak highly of the French winter rations, as well; tins of rabbit, pheasant or quail pate, chocolates and cognac. A pleasant supplement to the MRE, not as hearty as the brit rats.
T-rats have everything a logistician could ask for; compact size, minimal equipment to render them usable, long shelf life and they travel well. Unfortunately they are barely palatable. We used to have Mobile Kitchen Trailers (MKT) staffed by cooks and could turn out some pretty delectable stuff—-now we get five year old mechanically separated chicken in a metal tray;just boil the tin and serve—progress has its limitations. I’ll take MREs over T-rats any day.