Anybody here eat authentic MREs?

[Mr Pickles]

My buddy that went to Iraq in the Marines brought back some as "gifts" lol... they were the best gift for me I thought. They tasted fine, but he said they are designed to constipate you so you don't poop out in the field. Alternatively, the gum is a laxative. Genius...

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

I had some back when I was 17. My stepdad had managed to get a case of them for a LAN party I hosted. We spent like 2 hours having fun with MRE's .

Since I was still in HS at the time, I became known throughout school for that (was also hosted in a barn I had out back, and we had 27 people). The next day we also went to McD's and ordered 200 chicken nuggets.... After they thought we were kidding they said "if you ever want to do this again call ahead please". The next time we did, and ordered 300

 

[thecoolnessrune]

Originally posted by: Pale Rider
MREs aren't so bad. Homeland security used to give them to the security firm I used to work for in case of "emergency". We used to eat them on the overnight shift when we didn't want to leave our compound to go get some chow.

You wouldn't happen to be one of the legendary Mall Ninjas would you?! :shocked:

 

[trmiv]

When my brother was in the marines he brought a couple home on leave one time, I thought they were a bit gross. This was like 23 years ago though and I was 9. I do remember liking the chicklets though.

 

[Uhtrinity]

Originally posted by: TallBill
First few are ok. When you get into the hundreds they are definitely not that good anymore.

They also tend to give you gas ......

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: KillerCharlie
Screw MREs, you want FSRs (First Strike Rations)! An FSR has over twice the calories of an MRE, yet an FSR weighs only a small fraction of an MRE. They even include caffeinated gum!

You only get 1 FSR a day, you get 3 MREs a day. 3 MREs average out to usually about 4000kcals. A FSR averages out to slightly under 3000.

BTW Fuzzy, Amriqual are not the official ones, they're excellent civilian rations but still dont compare to the US government rations.

 

[jandrews]

I dont think a lot of people realize that those things typically pack more calories than a mcdonalds value meal, you can make anything taste deliscious with enough caloric content

 

[UpGrD]

I have been out of the army for 15 yrs. But I still actually get a craving for MRE's now and then. Chicken ala king with cheese spread and crushed up crackers, heated up till almost burnt. Mmmmmm...... I lived on nothing but MRE's for almost 10 months at one point. With a bit of creativity they are not that bad.

 

[Ramma2]

Pink Lung = epic fail

 

[0roo0roo]

probably different cal versions for combat no?

 

[hanoverphist]

Originally posted by: ktehmok
My dad had a buddy in the Army back in the 70's. He gave us some C rations once. It was some awful crap. But I thought it was badass anyway because it was Army food.

I'll take an MRE over starving or mexican food any day.

i inherited a salisbury steak patty and a peanut butter MRE from my dad. it was leftovers from one of his nutcase buddies that lived in the woods back in the early 70s. i ate the peanut butter in 1999 and was going to eat the steak in 2000 but my dog chewed on it and pierced the wrapper. i ended up rehydrating it and letting him eat it anyway. sauce was fairly tasty tho.


and mexican food is the bomb-diggity! well, good mexican is.

 

[mwmorph]

Originally posted by: 0roo0roo
probably different cal versions for combat no?

No, the army assumes you'll only use/get these when you're in a combat or training or some other physical strenous situation out in the field so it's all the same version.

 

[BoomerD]

Originally posted by: ktehmok
My dad had a buddy in the Army back in the 70's. He gave us some C rations once. It was some awful crap. But I thought it was badass anyway because it was Army food.

I'll take an MRE over starving or mexican food any day.

I LIKE Mexican food. AFAIC, it's the only good thing that came across the border.
(with the exception of a few hot senoritas...)

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: TallBill
First few are ok. When you get into the hundreds they are definitely not that good anymore.

:thumbsup: yip, they suck when you get the same one for 3 weeks, try that sometime and come back and say they are awesome.

i ate a meat with beans one while out on maneuvers and a hour later i was sucking on my canteen and choked myself. ended up trhowing up and i swear it tasted the same going down as it did coming up. for the next week the only thing i ate was the peanut butter, crackers and fudge bar...

 

[OutHouse]

Originally posted by: MrLee
My buddy that went to Iraq in the Marines brought back some as "gifts" lol... they were the best gift for me I thought. They tasted fine, but he said they are designed to constipate you so you don't poop out in the field. Alternatively, the gum is a laxative. Genius...

no its the fudge/brownie bar. AKA. exlax in a wrapper.

 

[jersiq]

Originally posted by: ironwing
They're pretty good but keep in mind...they do go bad. We keep some in our car for emergencies. We learned that after four or five years in a car, in Arizona, those things can kill ya. Now we have our annual candlelit MREs for two dinner.

At least you have a choice.
Our platoon sargeant was routinely late for the MRE pickup from BN.

End result: every day for two months we had expired MRE's (in fairness they were only expired for six months, it was only for lunch, and we were jarheads)

It was during the transition from the dark brown wrappers to the tan wrappers, and of course the remainder of the dark brown supply just "had" to be used.

I will never forget the "Five Fingers of Death" At least they came with potato sticks.

 

[destrekor]

Originally posted by: Citrix

Originally posted by: MrLee
My buddy that went to Iraq in the Marines brought back some as "gifts" lol... they were the best gift for me I thought. They tasted fine, but he said they are designed to constipate you so you don't poop out in the field. Alternatively, the gum is a laxative. Genius...

no its the fudge/brownie bar. AKA. exlax in a wrapper.

i've had the plenty a few times and never had any issue I've also chewed the gum.

 

[SSSnail]

I have always thought that they're fortified with vitamins and are about 3K calories each. I would actually eat those MREs everyday if given the choice between them and the fast foods of Mc. D and the likes. Just be sure to drink a lot of water, camel back is cool .

 

[datalink7]

Being in the Military, I've eaten my fair share of MRE's. I now only eat them if forced

 

[AndrewR]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat
When I was stationed in Germany, I always kept an ammo box with a coleman stove and various condiments (chili, top ramen, etc) in my tracked vehicle. That way I could dress up the MREs which were for the most part, disgusting. Especially the dehydrated pork patty. uke;

Ha ha -- the dehydrated pork patty was my very first MRE, way back in 9th grade. It was absolutely horrible. The only redeeming quality was that I also had dehydrated peaches, which were like ambrosia. That dehydrated fruit was incredible -- they should have kept that.

 

[gwrober]

I've had so many MRE's over the years (veteran here) that don't get the least bit excited about them anymore.

We used to trade them around, play for them in card games, etc...

 

[Chaotic42]

No, after hurricane Katrina, I've gotten my fill of MREs.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: mwmorph

Originally posted by: KillerCharlie
Screw MREs, you want FSRs (First Strike Rations)! An FSR has over twice the calories of an MRE, yet an FSR weighs only a small fraction of an MRE. They even include caffeinated gum!

You only get 1 FSR a day, you get 3 MREs a day. 3 MREs average out to usually about 4000kcals. A FSR averages out to slightly under 3000.

BTW Fuzzy, Amriqual are not the official ones, they're excellent civilian rations but still dont compare to the US government rations.

FSR's regardless aren't designed to replace MRE's long term. They are for short periods where inventory on a soldier is critical.

 

[Apathetic]

Originally posted by: alkemyst
MRE's in the last 10 years are lightyears ahead of those before. Still there are some that soldiers dread and some that are univeral favorites.

Let's compare most hated MREs. Is anything more wretched than the old Pork Patty MRE?. It's sole redeeming fact was that it could also double as a Brillo pad.

*shudders*

Dave

 

[Apathetic]

Originally posted by: jupiter57
I've yet to try them.
I am an old "C" Rations guy myself.
Scrambled eggs & bacon in a can, Mmmmm!
Ham & Lima beans, better known as "Ham & Motherf*ckers were pretty good too. No one else liked them, so I always had plenty.
Canned Pound cake, 3 Marlboros, & a Chiclet or Wrigleys gum.

The pound cake was always one of my favorite deserts. The Ham & Lima beans were pretty bad. Not as bad as the Pork Patty, but still pretty awful.

I also loved it when they had dehydrated fruit in them. The strawberries were the best.

Dave