Posted on 03/29/2007 9:46:02 PM PDT by jmc1969
When Lt. Dave Moore visited infantry units in the remote, rugged mountains of Afghanistan late last year, the Navy medical officer was surprised to hear from many soldiers and Marines that they had lost significant weight.
After conducting more than 150 interviews with medics, officers and troops on the ground, Moore concluded that the portable rations called "Meals, Ready-to-Eat" — long derided by troops, but valued by the Pentagon for their indestructibility — were not doing the job, causing the soldiers to shed pounds that they very much needed.
The standard Meal, Ready to Eat [MRE] does not provide adequate nutrition for dismounted operations in this type of terrain," Moore wrote in his report. "Many Marines and soldiers lost 20 to 40 pounds of bodyweight during their deployment. At least one soldier was evacuated due to malnutrition and a 60-pound weight loss."
Moore's conclusions have raised concern among military leaders, as well as designers of the field rations at the Natick Soldier Research, Development & Engineering Center outside Boston.
Moore stressed in an interview that the service members he surveyed represented only a small portion of those fighting in Afghanistan — infantry troops deployed to desolate locations where MREs and local cuisine were the only options — but nonetheless he concluded that up to 1,300-calorie MREs were falling short.
A nutrition deficit, he said, could potentially result in fatigue, impaired brain function and lackluster performance.
Recognizing the seriouslness of the reports, the Combat Feeding Directorate is planning to ship about 4,000 prototypes of a new meal called the First Strike Ration to Iraq and Afghanistan. Designed for limited use, the ration contains about twice the calories of an MRE.
(Excerpt) Read more at ajc.com ...
Unless you are humping 120lb of gear up and down the hills all day. Then you might be able to handle three.
And I'm one of the idiots who actually like MREs. They're like opening a Christmas present.
Food is food. Must be a bachelor thing.
In the early 80s we were issued C-Rats that were dated in the late 50s. We'd try to snag a case to toss under a bunk back in the barracks for those late night munchies.
after hurricane Rita we got some crappy pink ones with like no beef or pork or meat of any kind.
Ugh! Do you have any idea what you're suggesting?!
Hey all...post 45 had a Richard Simmons pic.....then Sheed popped up...weird....
This thread begs for the spam song.
Man: You sit here, dear.
Wife: All right.
Man: Morning!
Waitress: Morning!
Man: Well, what've you got?
Waitress: Well, there's egg and bacon; egg sausage and bacon; egg and spam; egg bacon and spam; egg bacon sausage and spam; spam bacon sausage and spam; spam egg spam spam bacon and spam; spam sausage spam spam bacon spam tomato and spam;
Vikings: Spam spam spam spam...
Waitress: ...spam spam spam egg and spam; spam spam spam spam spam spam baked beans spam spam spam...
Vikings: Spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam!
Waitress: ...or Lobster Thermidor a Crevette with a mornay sauce served in a Provencale manner with shallots and aubergines garnished with truffle pate, brandy and with a fried egg on top and spam.
Wife: Have you got anything without spam?
Waitress: Well, there's spam egg sausage and spam, that's not got much spam in it.
Wife: I don't want ANY spam!
Man: Why can't she have egg bacon spam and sausage?
Wife: THAT'S got spam in it!
Man: Hasn't got as much spam in it as spam egg sausage and spam, has it?
Vikings: Spam spam spam spam... (Crescendo through next few lines...)
Wife: Could you do the egg bacon spam and sausage without the spam then? ]
Waitress: Urgghh!
Wife: What do you mean 'Urgghh'? I don't like spam!
Vikings: Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!
Waitress: Shut up!
Vikings: Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!
Waitress: Shut up! (Vikings stop) Bloody Vikings! You can't have egg bacon spam and sausage without the spam.
Wife: I don't like spam!
Man: Sshh, dear, don't cause a fuss. I'll have your spam. I love it. I'm having spam spam spam spam spam spam spam beaked beans spam spam spam and spam!
Vikings: Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!
Waitress: Shut up!! Baked beans are off.
Man: Well could I have her spam instead of the baked beans then?
Waitress: You mean spam spam spam spam spam spam... (but it is too late and the Vikings drown her words)
Vikings: Spam spam spam spam. Lovely spam! Wonderful spam!
Spam spa-a-a-a-a-am spam spa-a-a-a-a-am spam. Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Lovely spam! Spam spam spam spam
Somehow, that doesn't sound like a bunch of lardasses who needed a fat farm. Matter of fact, today's troops are (for the most part) in better physical condition than at any time in the past. It's just that the MRE's don't contain enough calories and nutrients for the type of work the soldiers are doing.
When my dad got back from the Pacific after WW2 he never ate Spam again for the rest of his life, another 58 years.
I agree. Charlie Rats had about 3000 calories per pack. I was the only guy who liked the ham and lima beans, so it was no problem to find someone to take my turkey loaf in exchange for ham and mutha f'ers.
I think everyone loses weight during prolonged combat, duh.
I went over at 152 and stabilized around 136 after about 3 months of humping the boonies. But, I stayed at that weight during the next 13 months. I don't think it's so much that there aren't enough calories in the rations as it's the monotony of the same meals day after day and the fatigue that a constant part of grunt warfare.
On the other hand, just thinking about this has me suddenly yearning for some beef slices covered with a little processed cheese and Tabasco between two John Wayne cookies and heated over a C-rat stove burning some C4..
Probably the amount. I imagine that high altitude can up your calorie requirement the way that cold weather does IF you are conducting active operations.
The rule of thumb is 3600 calories (3 x 1200 calorie MREs) under normal lowland conditions (which is already a lot compared to the normal 2000 calorie recommended diet). It goes up to 5000 (4 MREs + hot/wets) in cold weather. But, based on what returning Marines have told me, the weight loss may just be due to combat area uncertainty and stress, too little sleep, and long hours on patrol and watch.
Now the question to be asked is how do the Afgans do it since most of them would consider themselves lucky to eat 2000 calories/day, not to mention 3600 or 5000.
20-40 pounds of weight loss in Afghanistan is no big issue. I saw contractors lose that much, and they had full use of the dining facility and the PX. They came over fat and with high blood pressure. After a year on the ground, they had lost a lot of weight and reduced or stopped their BP meds.
20-40 pounds of weight loss in Afghanistan is no big issue. I saw contractors lose that much, and they had full use of the dining facility and the PX. They came over fat and with high blood pressure. After a year on the ground, they had lost a lot of weight and reduced or stopped their BP meds.
With my dad it was rice. He was a tank commander in Europe, and rice was all they could get much of the time. He's in his 80s and still won't eat rice.
I've tasted the stuff but never had to live on it since I had aircraft carrier food. Not bad, omelets to order, 24 hour chili bar.
That may have been the vegetarian MRE.
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