Mercy Mission: 10 Tons of German MRE's

Ad Astra

Ad Astra

Joined
Jul 30, 2004
Messages
3,829
A local airbase is being using as a staging area for the Hurricane Katrina relief effort. People all over the world really are touched by the losses caused by Katrina.

Here's an example: I snapped these shots of a Luftwaffe A310 Airbus bringing in over 10 tons of German MRE's, the first of four such loads.

c26ri.jpg


The MRE’s are of a varied menu, and usually contain a chocolate ration. More importantly, they contain water purification tablets, which is of great use to hurricane victims, as well as fuel tablets for heating. They're said to be not bad. I offered to trade 2 American MRE's for one but got no takers.

c18lm.jpg


FEMA officials were on hand to receive the shipment, which was immediately loaded by forklift onto a waiting tractor trailer truck.

c37yv.jpg


I asked the FEMA guy what happened to the Cursed FEMA Trailer that I spent last winter in. :eek: It's being sent to the area, along with most all of the one's from Florida's Year of Four Hurricanes, 2004. Maybe it had a VooDoo plan to go to New Orleans all along, and when I stopped drinking it decided I was no fun anymore. :D

Sorry this isn't great writing. I'm really tired. Just wanted to show you all that America does have allies that care.

Let's hear it for the Germans!


Ad Astra :thumbup:
 
Yummie, irradiated spam and sauerkraut. Sehr gut! :p

I think many folks in America think only America responds to disasters.Just so happens there are good folks everywhere.
 
Thanks, Mike:)
There really are good people all over. I like the idea of MRE's more than France's 1000 cots and 12 generators or whatever. People can lay on the floor, the majority doesn't HAVE to have electricity. People NEED to eat. They NEED drinkable water. sehr gut, indeed:) Thank you Germany.

Jake
 
Actually, they have biscuits, coffee, tea & chocolate. Different stuff.

Notice ours don't have the water purification tabs; GI canteens have a pouch that holds 2 bottles of them. Not a bad idea.

As a hurricane survivor (3x) who actually has lived in wreckage, eating MRE's and drinking warm beer, I can appreciate their effort especially.

Plus, I got to meet the hottie anchor of the local news channel who interviewed the pilot.

h0ux.jpg



Ad Astra

CNN's got it too:

http://www.cnn.com/2005/US/09/06/international.aid.flows/index.html
 
I am touched and gladdened by their assistance.
Kuwait is offering $100mil cash and $400mil of oil. That might hold us over while the refineries are out of production.
 
Heck, I didn't even know Mexico had a navy, but apparently they do. They recently launched a ship headed to the area, loaded up with amphibious vehicles and other stuff to help out in search and rescue ops. Gracias amigos.

Regarding MRE's, on my various excursions to the Middle East, I've had a chance to sample German, British, and yes French, field rations. Like our own MRE's, they've come a long way from the stuff we were eating in Desert Storm. Still far short of mama's home cooking, but really not bad at all if you're hungry. I've eaten far worse, and was happy to get it.

Good to see so many nations coming to our aid. All politics aside, people are just people, and everybody needs a hand now and then. Some might want to examine their agendas, or point out how many times we've helped them in the past, but I prefer just to look at it as good people, doing the right thing, because they care.

Sarge
 
good to see the rations arrive so fast. The Bundeswehr has brought 50 tons more to Ramstein airbase so the US planes that come from Iraq and are continuing their way to the US (I hear they often return empty from Iraq to the US) can bring them - so there is no extra time and space for more landings in the overcrowded airspace - do not know if they arrived yet. Some of the local THW (Technical assistance - kind of FEMA) prepared large pumps this week to be shipped to the area.

catastrophes bring out the bad and the good in the people(s).

The victims of Katrina are in our prayers. It found it moving when I learned that even poor Sri Lanka offered $25 000 to help.


Andreas
 
Sylvrfalcn said:
Heck, I didn't even know Mexico had a navy, but apparently they do. They recently launched a ship headed to the area, loaded up with amphibious vehicles and other stuff to help out in search and rescue ops. Gracias amigos.

Sarge
Click to expand...


It took a while, we're getting offers even from countries that we don't seem to be on very good terms with. It is likely at point where the real problem is organization/logistics, not amount of supplies.

Don't know what the Mexican Navy's capabilities are, but they take "old-school" cadet training seriously enough to have commisioned in 1981 a beautiful 297 ft steel barque christened Cuauhtémoc:

issue015-08tn.jpg
 
Old wives tale Cliff, perpetuated by the fact that it's a never ending chore to keep the troopies pounding down enough water to stay properly hydrated. Drink enough water and you're fine, don't and those calorie dense MRE's will plug you up solid. Had a troop in Desert Storm start acting a bit surly and out of sorts. After one of my gentle "chats" he fessed up that he hadn't had a bowel movement in seven days. I hauled him to the nearest medic, which happened to be a flight surgeon and a fine captain by the name of Cory Cornum. His wife,also a captain, was an Army flight surgeon, whose helo got shot down, and she wound up being taken prisoner by the Iraqis. All this while he was also in theater, and continuing to do his duty. We all thought highly of Cap Cornum, so the whole camp was worried and fired up something fierce. His wife was eventually released, but it came out later that she was not "treated well", and I'll let it go at that, get so mad thinking about it my thoughts turn pretty bloody.
Anyway I digress, so Cap Cornum looks over my constipated troop and with a wink says, "Sarge, I'll give him something that'll square him away, but you ain't getting no work out of this one tomorrow". Cap Cornum was never prone to exaggeration, holy cow. :eek: :eek:


Sarge
 
I remember reading that during the American Civil War, army doctors carried laxative tablets in one pocket of their coats and primitive ant-diahreal in the other. As they made their rounds of the troops, they asked each one, "Tight or loose?" Then dispensed the appropriate medicinal. Hopefully :rolleyes:
 
There, there, Aa...


enjoy the ride, it's just thread veer at its finest.


(and GREAT use of apostrophe!)
 
Shane, this was in 1992. South Miami. H________ Andrew had just buzzsawed through the southern part of Dade county. If you think FEMA's response to Katrina is lackluster, it was non-existent then. The whole place was paralyzed by the damage- roads blocked by palm trees & concrete light poles toppled by 150 mph winds. Nuked. And no organzied help came for... many days.

A church across the street from where I lived was roofed with these large copper sheets. They peeled off, flew off, and when they hit something they just wrapped around it like a sheet of wet paper, and stuck from the impact.

I remember making a makeshift campstove out of one of these copper sheets. I sat on my porch drinking warm beer, watching the Blackhawk helicopters that were overhead all the time, with this little "stove". I had very little propane, few supplies, as employer made us work overtime getting all work done before ol' Andrew hit. The warehouse was of course destroyed and the work lost. You couldn't drive anywhere...

Metro Zoo's aviary was destroyed, and these exotic birds were not all killed but set loose and I remember seeing a... some kind of phesant? With blue and gold and red plumage in the tree near my home. Wierd.

Of course, the University of Miami's AIDS test monkey's were set loose, and the well-armed folks in Dade county were blasting them. Another story.

It was a wild time.

Never would'a guessed I would move and get my new home wrecked by hurricanes twice more.

The Mayans worshipped and feared an angry god called Hurakan, root of the word that we use for these storms. Truly, I am a beloved child of this god.

Too bad it couldn't have been Venus. I would've liked being followed everywhere by a beautiful goddess.

On the bright side, my wife ain't half bad. :D


Ad Astra
 
severtecher said:
Yummie, irradiated spam and sauerkraut. Sehr gut! :p
Click to expand...

Nah. They contain stuff like hamburger patties, pumpernickels, semolina pudding, cookies, even chocolate and chewing gum. They're actually pretty good.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top