Originally Posted by
rickair7777
They contain a huge number of calories, so you need some water to metabolize it all.
The one thing MREs lack is enough fiber.
vagabond:
About 2000 calories, per meal. That is about 50% more calories in
one meal than a typical adult woman needs
all day.
The reason? You're an infantryman, marching miles from your base, behind enemy lines. You're already carrying 45 lbs of bullets, gun, sleeping gear, chemical warfare antidote. And, when you eat, you need to get energy quickly...in case you start getting shot at again. So, high-calorie-density food reduces the total weight and volume of stuff you have to carry.
If you don't drink a lot of water afterwards, you might as well call it "Quickrete...Ready to Eat."
I liked the cookies, but the Army calls them "Road Wheels." A road wheel is what the track of a tank runs on.
During GW 1 (Gulf War 1), the most popular meals at my base had "Accessory Packet A." It had a tiny little 1-inch tall bottle of tobasco sauce in it.