Originally published at Notes from the bunker…. You can comment here or there.

I hadnt had much experience with the ‘new’ MRE’s so the six cases that a customer traded to me today are an eye-opening experience.

First of all, the shape of the case is slightly different..not as flat as the old style Im familiar with (ca. 1992). Next up , the color of the bag is different…more of a coffee-with-cream brown rather than the chocolate brown of the old pouches. Also, the new ones have the heaters included…niiiiiiiiiiiiice. ANd then theres the menu…jambalya? Chicken cavatelli? Hmmm… sounds good to me. Anyway, I traded and wound up with six cases of these things that are dated as 2003 manufacture..so theyre relatively fresh. Should have at least a good five years in them stored in my nice cool dark basement.
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In other news the Eureka USMC Combat Tent has arrived. Oooh-rah. I’ll set it up tonight and inspect it for any problems. My buddy who has a couple of these things will come by and give me the benefit of his experience with them and we’ll do whatever seam sealing is necessary. Ive been wanting one of these things for a couple years now and theyve come down on eBay to the point where theyre right around $125-150. Why this tent? Well, first of all, its pretty bloody difficult finding tents in ’subdued’ colors like military tan and green. Secondly, it comes with soldier-proof instructions, a complete and extensive repair/patch kit, blocks light from inside the tent so you dont give away your position, has a stand-alone fly, and generally has features that make it useful to the LMI. And if Uncle Sugar can spend a couple million buckto develop this thing, why wouldnt I take advantage of that?
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Now the news reports are saying that Al-Qaeda is planning the usual ‘massive strike’ for Inauguration Day. When will these threats stop? Well, I suspect shortly after Bush finishes his second term and doesnt need to wave that particular red flag around anymore. Cynical, yes, but…..

If they were really worried about terrorists getting into this country maybe instead of stripsearching grandmas at the airport they might, oh, I dunno…put some teeth in the Mexico/US border?