19 year old MREs

Discussion in 'General Survival and Preparedness' started by -06, Sep 11, 2012.


  1. -06

    -06 Monkey+++

    Just opened a case of our oldest MREs--in the old style flat case. Marked '93. Still great--cough cough. They are excellent. Just bought 8 new cases so it is time to start using some of the oldest ones.
     
    Sapper John, tulianr and Silversnake like this.
  2. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    My dad told me once that the MREs that were provided to him in Vietnam were made for the Korean war, so, I believe it.
     
  3. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    WOOT! [gasmask]
     
  4. Silversnake

    Silversnake Silverback

    In 25 years, I only had one MRE go bad on me. It was a spaghetti and meatballs in 1995 and was unopened, blown up like a balloon with gas from anaerobic bacteria. Of course, one of the junior guys cuts into it with a knife and it smelled as bad as you would guess.
     
  5. Moatengator

    Moatengator Monkey

    Guit,,,Your dad had to be talking about C-RATS. MRE'S were not first issued until about 1981. I perfered the C-RATS,, but the MRE's have improved a little over time.
     
  6. tulianr

    tulianr Don Quixote de la Monkey

    We had some pork patties make several guys sick while we were out on a MEU, back in the mid-eighties; so we were directed to go through several hundred cases of MREs and remove and discard the pork patty meals. It turned into license to rat-f**k the lot. I never personally had any go bad on me that were kept in reasonable temperatures.
     
  7. hot diggity

    hot diggity Monkey+++ Site Supporter+++

    Pork Patties! Oh, how I remember those fuzzy grey morsels. When I was with 2d Tank Bn we called them track pads. For thirty days at Fort Pickett we ate them three days a week or more . At breakfast they were called sausage, at lunch they were hamburger patties, and by dinner time they were salisbury steak. I suspect they were camoflaged and slipped into a few other meals, but none that were memorable. Best part of the meal some days was the oatmeal bars, and they were more like oatmeal bricks.

    I've got a whole case of (white bag) Cold Weather Rations dated 12/91. If the varnish holds out the nut mix will last forever.

    HD
    USMC (Retired)
     
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  8. tulianr

    tulianr Don Quixote de la Monkey

    I could never stomach those pork patties. Those, and a couple of other MREs, were something I just couldn't choke down. I always came back from a long deployment with a seabag full of MREs. We were always issued three a day, but I could usually eat only one. I'd eat the dessert for breakfast, the entree for lunch, and whatever remained for dinner. I was with 2d Radio Bn.
     
  9. Pyrrhus

    Pyrrhus Monkey+++

    The burps afterwords...blech.
     
  10. Brokor

    Brokor Live Free or Cry Moderator Site Supporter+++ Founding Member

    Say what you want, but the HAM SLICE was by far the greatest MRE invented. It was one, solid block of ham (not processed like the consistency of Spam) and very tasty. Mix in some Tabasco and crackers and it was a fitting meal for sure.

    I hate they got rid of it.
     
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  11. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

    Correct! I was using "MRE" in the generalized sense. No baggies and warmers.....CANS. He still carries his P-38 and as I recall, was quite fond of the franks and beans.
     
  12. oldawg

    oldawg Monkey+++

    For the most part what we had in Nam (65-66)were MCIs with surplus c-rats when they could get them in. We still called them all c-rats and they WERE better than starvation.Well all except the ham and beans. According to my oldest they were still better than '80s MREs.
     
  13. tulianr

    tulianr Don Quixote de la Monkey

    Yeah, once the novelty of those early MREs wore off, we had to admit that the C-Rats were, by and large, better. Those C-Rats were heavy though. The MREs were a lot easier to haul around, and they eventually developed some pretty tasty meals. I'm with Broker though, I don't know why they would do away with the ham slice. Those early crackers were pretty terrible, but you could choke them down with a ham slice and hot sauce.
     
  14. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    Don't forget those dark brown coated brownies, the after taste was something you had to experience to know how bad it was.
     
    tulianr likes this.
  15. CATO

    CATO Monkey+++

  16. HK_User

    HK_User A Productive Monkey is a Happy Monkey

    Shucks, I never knew they had a "Rating".

    Pretty poor tasting and the worst was the soapy rancid after taste.
     
  17. Silversnake

    Silversnake Silverback

    Pork Patties were my first MRE, about an hour after my first CS exposure in a chamber. Good times.
     
  18. gunbunny

    gunbunny Never Trust A Bunny

    I can remember the first time I had an MRE. I was in middle school and my uncle was still in active duty. He gave me a couple of them. During one school outing, I ate the frank and beans (hot dogs in one pack and beans in the other) in front of the class. Grossed them all out.

    I can remember buying c-rats from a local army-navy store. I used to eat them quite a bit when camping.

    Ahhh, childhood memories...
     
  19. Byte

    Byte Monkey+++

    I got out in late '92. I have very distinctly bad memories of those 'pork' patties. *shudder* Seemed like they all had my name on them when they were randomly handed out. 'Course I basic'd at Sill and what little time we were even allowed in the chow hall wasn't any better. Had I not already been so underweight when I got there I'm sure the weight loss would have been near record setting for an 8 week program.

    Byte
     
  20. Sapper John

    Sapper John Analog Monkey in a Digital World

    I miss the C-rat "John Wayne" bars.They would make a man out of you in about 24 hours.
     
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