whats with these MREs??

B

bennyjenkins

Joined
Dec 18, 2006
Messages
210
I just bought a case of MREs and they aren't near as cool as they were when I was a kid. What happened to the acessory packets with the toilet paper and chewing gum? They used to have peanut butter and tabasco. Has the military downgraded or did I get a bunk case?
 
You have to get the real military ones. I was pretty pissed when I got a case from Sportsmans guide and they didn't have toilet paper, chiclets gum, or tabasco. To top it all off the coffe was decaf. I almost went ballistic. From now on it's military surplus from the gun shows only for me.
 
Yeah the civvy MREs sux, even the military ones have been cut back on, from what I have heard. Not sure though. I watched a show on the Hist Channel, where they used to have cigs and condoms, LOL. My how the wars have changed. Moose
 
yeah, thats what I got.. friggin decaf coffee. I got these at a surplus store. How do you tell the actual military surplus from the other stuff without opening the box?
 
bennyjenkins said:
yeah, thats what I got.. friggin decaf coffee. I got these at a surplus store. How do you tell the actual military surplus from the other stuff without opening the box?
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I'm not sure about the boxes, but the plastic pouches on the individual meals are usually telling to me. It will probably have a military NSN number or something similar and say US. govt not for resale. Yeah, as a coffee drinker, I can't remember the last time I was so upset. It was like selling fake crack to a crackhead.
 
I dont even think the new Military MRE's have tabasco, chicklets or TP. I have a 2010 case of A series and none have had any of that I have been through. I know this will get me thrown under the bus.. But the best ones these days as far as meals go are the vegetarian meals. I opened the buffalo chicken the other day just to check it out. I was on the toilet for the rest of the night. Toxic orange as well:eek:
 
Some do some dont. For MRE information click this http://www.mreinfo.com/ They have menus dating back years, and neat little things that people should know about using cheese and apple sauce as a temp storage indicator. As for civie MREs. Menu C are my favorites as a prebagged meal. Menu C MRE bags look pretty much just like the military MRE bags, except that the logo on the top left side has the guy at the ready (muzzle at target) instead of the tactical carry position (muzzle up, butt on hip) and the stripes run vertical instead of horizontal. My next best bet is to go to emergency essentials http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_FM M750_A_name_E_MRE EBM (Emergency Backup Meal) and dig thru their "emergency back up meals" open box and pick the main flavors I like. the EBM have a main meal and an entree so you really get 2 pouches of food with bread, PB and jelly, dessert, some hard candy, and other fluff. These guys are local so I can just walk in and start digging for meatloaf, chicken with salsa, pork rib, and a few others.

However read around on the MRE info page posted at the top, its a wealth of MRE knowledge. Also if you want the real thing... http://www.armygear.net/ag/store/00231.html They are usually about 1-1.5 years old, the only down side... they repackage the MREs into their boxs so you lose temp indicator and the strong MRE box, I have been repackaging them into my older MRE boxes since they can take a beating. I hve bought 6 cases thru these guys in the last 4 years... they are great to deal with. I found about them on AR15.com, outdoors forum, survival gear.
 
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It's been a couple hours since I last saw an MRE, but I've NEVER received one while on duty that didn't have Tabasco, TP, or gum.

And MRE's have never had cigarettes or condoms; C's had cigs, but not the last of those, and they were phased out in '83/84. Condoms you get from the TMC or the Chaplain.
 
I got ripped of by The Sportsman's Guide this year on MREs. I bought a case from them last year and they were great (except the instant coffee was decaf). I liked them so much I ordered two cases for this season. This year, the same item came with no heaters, no side dish, and some cheaper cookie/crackers. What I got looked NOTHING like the photo in their catalog. It cost the same as last year, and was worth about 1/2 the money!

I wrote and told them about it and they sent me a $10 coupon toward my next order. Except there won't be a next order. Not from me....

I ended up going to another web site and buying heaters, side dishes, etc. Now my meals cost about twice what I originally paid. :(

Stay sharp,
desmobob
 
eisman said:
And MRE's have never had cigarettes or condoms; C's had cigs, but not the last of those, and they were phased out in '83/84. Condoms you get from the TMC or the Chaplain.
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Correct. The MRE's never had cigarettes. The old c-rations that we use to get from the Vietnam war had them. We were still eating them in 77-80. The ones with the cigarettes were getting pretty scarce by then though.

KR
 
Cigs were already gone by '77. Between 77 and 80, I spent nearly 50% of my time in the field due to being in a Field Artillery unit in the 82nd. I consumed hundreds of C-rats each year.
 
Never saw a cig in the c-rats, my time was between 1980-84. C-rats and then the switch to MRE's in 82. 1st Bn 10th Marines (Artillery).
 
eisman said:
It's been a couple hours since I last saw an MRE, but I've NEVER received one while on duty that didn't have Tabasco, TP, or gum.

And MRE's have never had cigarettes or condoms; C's had cigs, but not the last of those, and they were phased out in '83/84. Condoms you get from the TMC or the Chaplain.
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ha ha,glad you set it straight i got a kick out of that..
 
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