Meals Ready To Eat

Because Napoleon believed that armies marched on their stomachs, he offered a prize in 1795 for a practical way of preserving food. The prize was won by a French inventor, Nicholas Appert. What he devised was canning. It was the beginning of the canned food industry of today.

The modern armies of the present rely on preserved food during field operations. For example the Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) is a self-contained, individual field ration in lightweight packaging bought by the United States military for its service-members for use in combat or other field conditions where organized food facilities are not available.

Each meal provides about 1,200 calories (1,200 kcal). They are intended to be eaten for a maximum of 21 days (the assumption is that logistics units can provide superior rations by then), and have a shelf life of three years (depending on storage conditions). MREs must be able to withstand parachute drops from 380 m (1,250 ft), and non-parachute drops of 30 m (100 ft). The packaging is required to maintain a minimum shelf life of three and a half years at 27 °C (80 °F), nine months at 38 °C (100 °F.

Each MRE is labeled: U.S. Government Property. Commercial Resale is Unlawful

The United States military takes care of their fighting men, prompting the question: how does the AFP feed the Philippine Army and Marines fighting the rebels and bandits in Mindanao? Do the backpacks of each trooper carry a kilo or two of uncooked rice and a can or two of sardines and a swiss knife to open the cans? Is there a low rank toady given the honor of platoon chef that cooks the rice in a common pot he carries extra in his pack?

The question is relevant only to the foot soldier, the PN sailors and AirForce flyboys always eat in their messroom.(The term mess does not necessarily refer to the disarray of the facility, rather it is the military parlance meaning eating place.)