Rations

[rcaf_777]

Something I found the other side of Role Playing Game Section

I think this is what military rations would be in Twilight

http://forum.juhlin.com/showthread.php?t=4536

[raketenjagdpanzer]

I wonder how many tons of MREs and C-Rats are typically available for the US military?

I mean, I realize by 1997 - starting equipment aside - that military units are living off the land (farming not only for fuel but for food as well), how much prepackaged food would trickle in?

[Olefin]

I would say by 2000 most preserved foods for ration packs would either be smoked or dried or salted and packaging would be either boxed or paper wrapped

I could see a lot of smoked and salted meats, jerky, packages of nuts, certain hard cheeses, and stuff like dried fruits and vegetables being the contents of ration packs by the time of Kalisz

[Raellus]

Modern MREs Are Fine Dining Compared To What Troops Ate In The Revolutionary War

https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zon...olutionary-war

Armies might not be able to do much better c.2000.

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[bash]

I think there's a few advantages T2k has over both the 18th century and the Morrow Project setting when it comes to food.

The first big one is knowledge. In T2k germ theory exists and is understood as is Pasteurization and canning. These things are game changers when it comes to food safety. Pasteurization and canning can preserve more types of food and for longer durations than older preservation techniques.

The second is fairly wide availability of stuff. TDM didn't cause all modern technologies and products to disintegrate. There's going to be literal tons of jars, bottles, utensils, cookery, and crockery (including Tupperware or equivalent) in every first and second world town and village. There's also literal tons of food safe storage containers in the hands of civilians and militaries. Foods can be cooked and preserved more efficiently and under safer conditions than during the Revolutionary War.

Another big difference is that before TDM the whole planet had huge preserved food industries. While international trade of foods would have slowed by 1996 most countries had domestic packaging concerns. I would assume everyone would have started crash food production (Defense Production Act et al) efforts as the war ramped up both for military and civilian consumption.

With that in mind anywhere that can generate a good surplus is likely going to pump out rations for encamped forces. Stews and such that might have normally been in tin cans would can as well in jars. As nutritional science is also better in T2k than the 18th century I can picture fruit bars being a popular ration item. That's in addition to hardtack/crackers and preserved meats.

I'd also think there would be literal tons of condiments floating all around. While not necessarily foods themselves they're shelf stable and have at least a few nutrients. Some hot sauce or a jelly packet can make shitty food palatable enough to choke down. Jelly packet toilet hootch would be a hot commodity in the cantonments.

[Raellus]

Originally Posted by bash

The second is fairly wide availability of stuff. TDM didn't cause all modern technologies and products to disintegrate. There's going to be literal tons of jars, bottles, utensils, cookery, and crockery (including Tupperware or equivalent) in every first and second world town and village. There's also literal tons of food safe storage containers in the hands of civilians and militaries. Foods can be cooked and preserved more efficiently and under safer conditions than during the Revolutionary War.

With that in mind anywhere that can generate a good surplus is likely going to pump out rations for encamped forces. Stews and such that might have normally been in tin cans would can as well in jars. As nutritional science is also better in T2k than the 18th century I can picture fruit bars being a popular ration item. That's in addition to hardtack/crackers and preserved meats.

You raise a lot of good points, Bash. Some things to consider:

Jars and other sealable glassware, although a good food storage medium if you have a safe space to store them, probably wouldn't make for good field ration packaging. Glass probably won't hold up to being ported around in a pack for very long, and it turns into razor-sharp shrapnel when struck with high-velocity projectiles. I wouldn't want a ruck full of jars on my back during a firefight.

Cans pretty much eliminate those issues, but few communities are going to be able to produce new ones. I suppose cans could be reused but they would require really good cleaning and sterilization first so that they don't rust prior to reuse (contrary to their nomenclature, tin cans are usually made of steel alloy because tin is a lot more expensive), or contaminate whatever fresh foodstuff one might put into them. It might be difficult to reseal them properly, without specialized machinery and/or fresh tin for lids.

According to the USDA website, dented cans can be dangerous.

"If a can containing food has a small dent, but is otherwise in good shape, the food should be safe to eat. Discard deeply dented cans. A deep dent is one that you can lay your finger into. Deep dents often have sharp points. A sharp dent on either the top or side seam can damage the seam and allow bacteria to enter the can. Discard any can with a deep dent on any seam."

On the other hand, good Tupperware-style food storage containers are made to be reusable and can last quite a while. However, most common household models won't hold up long to sustained hard use. As most of us have experienced, plastic food storage lids often come loose at the most inopportune times- especially ones that have been in use a long time. I imagine many a soldier in the T2kU has had their rucksack contents doused with food juice from loose, split, improperly closed plasticware lids. If exposed to sunlight for any length of time, plastic starts to become increasingly brittle (here in AZ, it'll shatter like glass after a few weeks of summer sun). Also, PCBs (especially back in the 1980s and '90s) would be prevalent in plastics used in food containers (although they're probably not something players/Refs are going to worry about).

Originally Posted by bash

I'd also think there would be literal tons of condiments floating all around. While not necessarily foods themselves they're shelf stable and have at least a few nutrients. Some hot sauce or a jelly packet can make shitty food palatable enough to choke down. Jelly packet toilet hootch would be a hot commodity in the cantonments.

For the first couple of years after manufacturing stops, yes. After that, though? Believe it or not, most condiments have a fixed expiry period. I've opened old ketchup packets to find the contents have aged to a dark red, thick, vinegary paste- no longer appetizing and, I reckon, not particularly safe. A lot of condiments require refrigeration after opening. That's not going to readily available, especially to soldiers.

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[rcaf_777]

Originally Posted by raketenjagdpanzer

I wonder how many tons of MREs and C-Rats are typically available for the US military?

I mean, I realize by 1997 - starting equipment aside - that military units are living off the land (farming not only for fuel but for food as well), how much prepackaged food would trickle in?

Rations would be still held in europe but there issue would most likly be issued under the dire of curcumstances. You see an inceased use of feild kitchens, which would an issue for US troops as they are more ration oriented vs feild kitchen. Most US army feild kitchens are used for making Unitized Group Ration or B Rations.

https://quartermaster.army.mil/jccoe...ing_Jun_11.pdf

I remember being on excrise in the US and talking soilders where amzaed that we still using the Mobile Kitchen Trailer (MKT) and the hot food that came out of it.

https://quartermaster.army.mil/jccoe...ng-Systems.pdf

As you see but this doc there only two kitchen units in service in the US Army the Mobile Kitchen Trailer (MKT) and Kitchen Company Level Field
Feeding (KCLFF).

https://www.slideserve.com/kris/oper...ing-specialist

[CDAT]

Originally Posted by rcaf_777

...
I remember being on excrise in the US and talking soilders where amzaed that we still using the Mobile Kitchen Trailer (MKT) and the hot food that came out of it.

...

When was this? We still had MKT's when I got out in 2012, they may not have been used much but were still in the inventory, and our cooks still trained to use them (as much as anything else they did).

[rcaf_777]

Originally Posted by CDAT

When was this? We still had MKT's when I got out in 2012, they may not have been used much but were still in the inventory, and our cooks still trained to use them (as much as anything else they did).

1995

Give this a read

https://www.nap.edu/read/5002/chapter/7

The US army was feeding a lot of troops using MRE and Tray rations during the first Gulf war and there were found in the Brigade Service Area behind the front line. There are only four MKT per mechanized infantry brigade.

In the game setting, you see makeshift kitchens with whatever army or civilians cooking. You will also see bakeries and maybe a few small kitchens specialized in certain tasks, IE meat cooking, smoking, etc.

You might still have MRE but like other foods stock, they would most likely armed guards with orders to shoot looters.

it would interesting to see how units address the large logestics of feed. You need plates, mugs, glasses, knife forks spoons, pots and pans ect

While the US army has some of thses where are you going spare or spare parts for cooking systems.

Food for Thought lol

[CDAT]

Originally Posted by rcaf_777

1995

Give this a read

https://www.nap.edu/read/5002/chapter/7

The US army was feeding a lot of troops using MRE and Tray rations during the first Gulf war and there were found in the Brigade Service Area behind the front line. There are only four MKT per mechanized infantry brigade.

In the game setting, you see makeshift kitchens with whatever army or civilians cooking. You will also see bakeries and maybe a few small kitchens specialized in certain tasks, IE meat cooking, smoking, etc.

You might still have MRE but like other foods stock, they would most likely armed guards with orders to shoot looters.

it would interesting to see how units address the large logestics of feed. You need plates, mugs, glasses, knife forks spoons, pots and pans ect

While the US army has some of thses where are you going spare or spare parts for cooking systems.

Food for Thought lol

When I deployed in 2003 we spent the first eight months eating nothing but MRE's, then the cooks finally set up the MKT's for the next couple, after that they had mess halls built. We were a separate battalion (Core Wheeled) and had one MKT per company, at that time there were only two units like mine in the US Army, so not sure if we were a hold over TOE, or what. As for the Plates, mugs and that each soldier had there personal mess kit and canteen cup (not that we used them we used disposable at the MKT, and they had stuff at the mess hall).