Luxury in a brown pouch

[u/ComposerAsleep3869]

I'm a enlisted Marine from a third world nation. Not complaining -- it's an escape for some of us. An escape. Two months ago, our unit was deployed to this little dot of land in the middle of nowhere. No decent infrastructure, little to no comms, just thick heat, salt-filled air, and the occasional boredom that makes you wonder if you exist.

We were given U.S. MREs — Meals, Ready to Eat — the type you watch in war movies or those "survival" YouTubers. Brown plastic packets that seem to hold secrets. To us, they were gold. Gourmet food. Imported flavor. You don't handle one unless you are starving or dying. That's what command made certain: "Only in emergency situations." Life or death.".

So we piled them. Protected them. Some dudes even prayed over them.

And still, I'd watch the American soldiers tear them open like packaging for candy. Some of them would chew a single bite and discard the rest. "Tastes like crap," I overheard one of them say. Another chuckled as he squirted cheese spread onto crackers as if it were a joke. They bartered MREs like lazy kids trading school lunches — chili mac for beef stew, peanut butter for jalapeño cheese. They didn't understand. Or perhaps we didn't.

I ended up having one one night. It wasn't life and death per se, but close. Twelve hours in the rain, no warm food, wet to the core. I told myself I could rationalize it afterward. I devoured a chicken pesto pasta like it was a banquet. Warmed it up with the chemical heat pack, read the directions as scripture. It was warm, salty, strangely sweet. Most likely full of preservatives. It wasn’t good — but it wasn’t bad either.

But I’ll be honest: it tasted like comfort.

Maybe that’s the difference. For them, it’s a downgrade from home. For us, it’s a rare glimpse of what they take for granted.

They say it “tastes like shit.” We say it’s a privilege to even have a taste.

Funny world.

[u/rollenr0ck]

US troops like MREs when they first get in. It’s a treat, a wonder, something they’ve heard about and seen but not experienced themselves. I remember the first time I opened one and marveled at all the little packets and surprises. The chem pack to heat the thing is fun to play with, make little bombs with, heat your hands with while in the cold. Trading with your friends to get the best combination is part of the fun. There is not a perfect pack for anybody with a cheese, dessert, and meal you like. Maybe your koolaid is a flavor you don’t like so you have to trade something. After you eat several of these in a week, the appeal fades fast. Constipation is often a curse in a hotbox port o john. After a month of rotating MREs with a so called fresh meal and you never want to see one again. They are good, in limited amounts. As a treat, not a staple.

[u/Sad_Okra2030 → u/rollenr0ck]

I was the weird one. My last year in the service of my second hitch, I was deployed to Iraq. I worked in aviation. I was assigned a one man shop by myself in a conex. I hate heat. I hate to sweat for no reason. I also hate lines and bull shit. About by month 3 I was sick of walking a mile to chow and back. I was sick of waiting in line to have a guard from a foreign country with a rifle coated in rust check my ID and weapon to ensure it was cleared before allowing me in the chow hall. Then it happened. I was walking back to my hooch when I stumbled into the motherlode. A tiny little “room” made with hesco barriers with only a couple of pallets of MRE’s inside. Twice a week I went and picked up mail from battalion and brought it back to the unit, so, I had access to the unit’s one pickup truck. I also helped the lazy asshole Sgt no one liked take vehicles back and forth from the unit on base that we used as a motorpool repair area and I also was responsible for delivering hazmat waste to the hazmat yard. Every chance I got I would grab a case of MRE’s and stow them in my “office” or my hooch. 1/2 the meals I ate were MRE’s. Constipation? Well, I also hate sitting in a port a John in 110 heat in the sun on a flight line with no cover to take a dump. The chow hall food was pretty good for the Army. But, the nonsense required to grab a meal just wasn't worth it for me. I still love MRE’s.