Natick to Field New Combat Ration for Troops on the Move

American Forces Press Service ^ | Dec. 19, 2003 | By Donna Miles

[Calpernia]

--"Ration stripping," they call it when forward- deployed combat troops jettison all but the most essential items from their Meals, Ready to Eat so they don't have so much to carry as they set out on a mission.

Troops in Operation Anaconda in Afghanistan reported sacrificing all but a few carefully chosen food items from their MRE pouches to lighten their pockets and rucksacks.

These reports alarmed food technologists at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center at Natick, Mass, who recognized that warfighters weren't simply tossing aside "luxury" items like flameless heaters and Tabasco sauce.

Janice Rosado from the Defense Department's combat feeding program said troops were also leaving half of their food behind, losing half the nutrition and calories packed into their MREs — at a time when their bodies needed them most.

In response, Rosado said Natick is developing the "first-strike ration" specifically for short-term use by warfighters during the first days of conflict.

First-strike rations are lighter and more compact than standard MREs. A single pouch holds a full day's food supply and weighs about 21/2 pounds. By comparison, three MREs weigh in at about 2 pounds heavier, Rosado said.

In addition to increasing troops' mobility, the new rations are designed to enhance their physical performance and mental acuity. They contain food easily eaten on the go, she said: a pocket sandwich, beef jerky, nuts, dried cranberries, applesauce and bread or crackers with a cheese spread. Extra energy comes packed into a fudge bar, a high-carbohydrate "HooAH" bar, an enriched beverage mix, and caffeine-laced chewing gum.

"They're a combat-driven ration that has more carbohydrates, less packaging and no luxury items," Rosado said. "They're based on what warfighters say they most frequently take with them when they're on the go."

Rosado stressed that the new rations aren't intended for noncombat operations or field training exercises.

They're "not nutritionally complete," she said, and don't meet all the dietary standards required of MREs. In addition, first-strike rations have fewer calories than MREs — 2,900 to 3,000 in a one-day pouch, compared to 3,600 to 3,900 calories in three MREs.

But Rosado insists that the new rations are a big improvement over the "Band- Aid approach" she said troops have historically used to feeding themselves while on the run.

The new rations have been field tested by Army special operations troops and Navy SEALs, Rosado said, with both groups giving them the thumbs-up.

In fact, the latest prototype of the new ration proved so popular during testing that the U.S. Army Special Operations Support Command requested as many of the rations that Natick's food engineering lab could make to ship to Rangers deployed to Iraq.

Current plans call for the first-strike rations to be fielded by 2007.

[Calpernia]

Pro Military, Pro Coalition News

--"Ration stripping," they call it when forward- deployed combat troops jettison all but the most essential items from their Meals, Ready to Eat so they don't have so much to carry as they set out on a mission.

[Grampa Dave]

Back packers, fishers, hunters and others who go outdoors have been doing this high energy from small packages for decades.

As usual, our warriors are smarter than the perfumed princes who dream up some of this stuff. Under Rummy, the changes will come for the betterment of our warriors in the field not to promote some perfumed prince in the pentagon.

[StatesEnemy]

They need to find a recipe for lembas.

[RebelBanker]

With all due respect, I think the folks at Natick have been really trying to make military rations better for a long time. The MREs came out in generations, with each one incorporating improvements suggested by the troops - dropping some entrees, adding others, changing the accessory package, and so forth.

I had the opportunity to meet with a couple of the field researchers one time. They sat down and ate MREs with my troops and me and asked us what we thought about a lot of aspects of them: size, weight, what food we liked, what food we didn't like, how we would eat them if we could, how to improve them, etc.

It sounds like they are coming up with a much more practical answer than the completely dehydrated LRRP ration, which was easier to carry but a real pain to prepare to eat.

[Grampa Dave]

This is positive: "They sat down and ate MREs with my troops and me and asked us what we thought about a lot of aspects of them: size, weight, what food we liked, what food we didn't like, how we would eat them if we could, how to improve them, etc."

When was that, and did anything good happen from these in the field meetings?

[RebelBanker]

...They sat down and ate MREs with my troops and me...
When was that, and did anything good happen from these in the field meetings?

That would have been in the late 1980's, sorry I can't remember a specific time. After we griped about a few things and discussed some others, the guys from Natick thanked us and told us our suggestions would be considered when they designed the next generation of MREs.

Specific things I remember that we talked about:
- Dropping the dehydrated pork and beef patties (they did it)
- Increasing the size of the coffee packet (nope)
- Providing more spices that the soldiers could add to taste (eventually, they added Tabasco sauce)
- We kicked around the trade-off between how much food was in the packages versus their weight, but different people had different ideas

I can not and will not claim credit for ANY of these, but it sounds like they listened to the soldiers' feedback.

[blackie]

Natick to Field New Combat Ration for Troops on the Move ~ Bump!

[Britton J Wingfield]

MRE's are MUCH MUCH better now than they were in the early 90s when I got off of active duty. They seem to have really listened to soldier input.

I miss the dehydrated fruit, though.

[doodad]

As an avid backpacker, I can tell you that MREs would be my last choice for sustenance. The packaging alone weighs as much as a full meal that I carry. I do have the luxury of ample prep time however that the soldiers do not. But, shedding that hard outer package would be my first move too.

[KantianBurke]

And to drink they need of that drought that Gandalf brought from Rivendell and gave out while in Moria. What's the name of that?

[Grampa Dave]

Our youngest son is a mountain biker and a tour bike rider. On the weekends and on vacation, he will often bike 100 miles per day.

His calorie consumption on a normal 25 mile day is enormous. When he rides those extra 75 plus miles, he has to carry an extra 3-4000 calories to replace what he expends and to keep him on the road.

Like with you, weight is very important to him. Also, he doesn't have a backpack, he has a fanny pack or some room in his liquid pack system. So he has buy the high cal and compact foods.

My point is with avid backpackers like you, avid bike riders like my youngest son and avid fly fishers like my oldest son, the food technology is on the market now to meet these intense energy demands and not weight the user down.

Make these current high energy assortments available for our warriors so they can pick and choose when they need something light but high in calories and energy. Smart guys listen to their bodies, and if the assortment is ample re choices, most will make the right choices for them.

[Tailback]

Here's a few ideas for the brilliant minds at natick. Include a frigging multivitamin, a couple power bars, and bring back the dehydrated fruit salad. Put a bigger instant coffee pack in every meal (the army runs on coffee). I really have a hard time understanding why it's so difficult for them to look at what's readily available at a hiking store and get this stuff right.

[Britton J Wingfield]

Power bar is a good idea, but I always just pack some of my own. Most of the ones on the market suck.

The meals themselves are a multivitamin, really.

More coffee is always a good idea. I usually end up just pouring the powder in my mouth and washing it down with water, though.

[norton]

"...weren't simply tossing aside "luxury" items like flameless heaters and Tabasco sauce."

TOBASCO SAUCE IS NOT, REPEAT, NOT, A LUXURY ITEM!!.

Thank you.

[Jambe]

In fact, the latest prototype of the new ration proved so popular during testing that the U.S. Army Special Operations Support Command requested as many of the rations that Natick's food engineering lab could make to ship to Rangers deployed to Iraq.

Current plans call for the first-strike rations to be fielded by 2007.,

Did anyone else catch the last line of the article? Is it any wonder our nation is falling behind in almost every area today!

Our nation fought and Won WWII in slightly more time than the Natick's food engineering lab can get these to the field. Somebody should fire the entire staff at that facility and let a contract to have these newly engineered (read repackaged existing food products) shipping within 90 days.

How do we expect to ever win a war with this type of rear support?

[Britton J Wingfield]

So you want food plopped down into soldiers hands without field testing?

That's a great way to saddle our guys with a bunch of crap that they'll end up throwing away in the field.

Believe it or not, this stuff needs serious research. They've done a great job so far.

[300winmag]

Current plans call for the first-strike rations to be fielded by 2007.

Everything sounded great until that last sentence. I know major weapons systems now take 20-25 years to develop, but four years for new chow?

[RebelBanker]

Don't blame me for that comment! I happen to have a belt holster for my Tabasco sauce bottle.

[RebelBanker]

The only hard outer package I remember is the cardboard box that holds a case of meals. The individual meals come in a soft (but quite tough) plastic bag. That outer bag protects the individual component bags inside from getting abraded open in your rucksack.