MRE Meals – Improving the Consumption Rate of the Servicemen

MRE’s are most often associated with the United States military. These are the meals that sustain our troops in combat every day.

MRE stands for Meal Ready to Eat. An MRE comes in a small package that is very lightweight and in an easy preparation package for troops to carry into the field with them.

These small packages are relied on when there is no established food organization that can serve the troops. The MRE followed the MCI in to battle.

MCI stands for Meal Combat Individual rations. The MCI was created Levitra in 1981 for use in the Vietnam War.

However, the MCI was not the first for of quick rations provides for United States soldiers. The first type of ration provided to soldiers was created by the Congressional Resolution during the Revolutionary War.

The Revolutionary War ration contained enough food to feed one man for one day.

The ration was made of beef, peas, and rice.

The ration changed to canned food during the Civil War. These kits evolved to include canned meat, salt pork, bread, coffee, sugar, and salt.

During World War One, the use of canned meats was ceased, but was quickly replaced by lightweight preserved meats. These meats were usually salted or dried.

Due to their preparation, these meats were much lighter than the canned meats. This allowed soldiers to be able to carry many more rations than they had been able to previously.

As the United States entered World War Two several new types of rations began to be introduced. Among these rations were the Mountain ration and the Jungle ration.

However, these newer types of rations were much more expensive than the previous canned rations. Late in the war, costs had to be cut so the rations were reverted back to the can methods.

This continued into the Korean and Vietnam Wars. Finally the canned method once again gave way to the MCI field ration.

After this development, Pentagon officials conducted studies that revealed that simply providing food with the proper balance of nutrition was not enough to support soldiers in the field. Many soldiers would not eat the food unless it had the correct side ingredients, such as salt, for the region they were in.

They also discovered that if they gave soldiers a choice in what they ate, the rates at which the soldiers actually ate the whole ration increased dramatically. The troops were also consistently being asked to go on more extended trips in extreme environments.

This required them to carry more and more rations, which meant that the rations had to be lighter than the canned food provided for. As a result the Department of Defense created the Meal, Ready to Eat in 1963.

This was a lighter replacement for the canned Meal.Combat. Individual ration. The MRE has been constantly improved and worked on since the beginning of 1993.

In the beginning the MRE only offered twelve different meals. As the MRE’s began to be used consistently, troops began to request more meal options and larger packages.

By the end of 1994 the MRE’s contained these improvements as well as extras such as spoons and napkins. The packages were also designed to be more functional.

By 1996, there were still only 16 different meal choices. Although these choices included vegetarian options, the demand for more meals continued.

Today, the troops can choose from 24 different meals and 150 extra items. These 24 meals allow troops from various cultures and lifestyles to choose something that is appealing to them.

In 1992 the Flameless Ration Heater (FRH) was developed. This heater was developed to allow troops to heat a meal without lighting a position to give away position.

To activate the package, a serviceman simply has to add water to start an exothermic reaction. In 2006 drink options that allowed troops to mix dry powder with water for a different nutrients and flavors.

The drink options were call Beverage Bags. Today both hot and cold drinks are available for the troops to choose from.

Even with improvements in MRE’s and other options, the Pentagon still finds ordering propecia online that troops do not consume enough during combat. Most troops are active men between ages 18 and 30 who need 4,200 calories per day.

However, many troops only consume about 2,400 calories a day because they do not eat their Kamagra Soft entire ration packages. With the introduction of the MRE’s the consumption rate has gone up.

Author Bio: Tommy Greene is an accomplished expert in family preparedness and has been giving seminars for over 15 years. He recommends that everyone includesMRE Meals in their emergency food storage.

Contact Info:
Tommy Greene
TommyGreene09@gmail.com
(http://www.foodinsurance.com/freeze_dried_food/mre_comparison.php)

Category: Food and Drink
Keywords: MRE Meals

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