[SamAdams76]

I had both C-rats and MRE's when I was in the Marines. I guess they changed over sometime in the early 1980s. I liked the C-rats better. The MRE's (and these were the first ones) were truly awful. Especially the "Chicken Loaf" entree that I usually got stuck with. Most of the food was supposed to be reconstituted with water, though I ate most of it dry.

[JackelopeBreeder]

Oooh that brings back memories. The first MREs made C-rats seem like fine dining. We called them Meals Rejected by Ethiopians.

They started improving in the late 80s and have continued to evolve. The present ones are excellent and I always have about a dozen or so on hand for camping, hiking or whatever.

[cavtrooper21]

Chicken Loaf = Mystery Meat
Mystery #1 ...exactly what kind of meat is this?
Mystery #2 ....and why the H#!! am I eating it!!!
..actually, it didn't taste TOO bad if you drowned it in mustard of Tobasco sause.
Scouts Out!!!

[ErnBatavia]

USMC messhall grease wasn't very good - I still remember seeing them prep the bacon at brekkies....big frozen blocks of 10 pounds or so just dumped into a vat of oil for "frying"....

I had good food twice, both compliments of the Navy....once on an old naval scow during wetnet training, and the other time during a stay at the Camp Pendleton hospital.

Far superior! (And all this just reminded me of "liver day"...gag)