
In the past the common soldier was not fed by his unit, but was left to 
fend and forage for himself. When an army was in the area, the local 
population suffered greatly. Their homes were ransacked and anything of 
food value was stolen along with all edible livestock. Modern armies go 
to great lengths to insure their soldiers are supplied with sufficient 
nutritious meals to keep them fit and ready to complete their mission.


Military Field Rations. The object of military field rations is to 
provide plenty of nutrients in as light a weight as possible. When hot 
mess hall meals are not available, soldiers are issued field rations 
which can be quickly and easily prepared in the field. In training 
situations, most United States military units try to provide at least 
one hot meal per day and issue MRE's (Meals Ready to Eat) for the 
others. MRE's aren't much different in content from Vietnam War era 
C-Rations, but are packed in lightweight plastic and foil pouches 
instead of heavy tin cans and some foods like fruits and vegetables have 
been freeze dried to save even more weight. MRE's are balanced 
nutritionally and there is a certain variety of menus (so long as you 
don't get the same type for every meal), but are thought by many 
soldiers to be very bland. Troops often carry hot sauce and spices like 
seasoned salt, cayenne pepper, garlic or curry powder and some also 
bring cheese, dry salami, minute rice (a clean boot sock is good for 
carrying some extra rice) or ramen noodles to the field to improve or 
supplement the issued meal. MRE's generally consist of a main-course 
(like beef stew, barbecued beef slices or chicken a la king), a freeze 
dried fruit or vegetable snack (like peaches, strawberries or hash brown 
potatoes, which can be reconstituted with water or eaten dry and 
crunchy), dense crackers and some kind of spread (like peanut butter or 
cheese whiz), a dessert (like chocolate or cookies), a drink mix (like 
kool-aid or cocoa), salt, pepper, instant coffee, creamer, sugar, 
chewing gum, matches and toilet paper. Other modern armies issue similar 
rations, but usually with canned food. The French Army even includes a 
small plastic bottle of red wine in their field rations.


British Army Rations. After the fall of France to the Nazis, a booklet 
on guerrilla warfare was distributed to the British Home Army, their 
citizen's Militia, advising how to resist the expected invasion of their 
island nation. Concerning rations this booklet stated that, in a pinch, 
a half-pound of chocolate and a half-pound of raisins should suffice to 
sustain a soldier in the field for a week. Try that some time if you 
want to lose about ten pounds. The British Army today has a much better 
field diet in the form of a 24-hour "ratpack" (ration pack) thought by 
many other armies to be the best in the world. It's useful to examine 
the contents of the British ratpack when planning and assembling your 
own rations for Militia field duty. Each ratpack weighs about 4-1/2 
pounds, comes in a cardboard box with a range card printed on the side 
and is issued with a folding stove and hexamine solid fuel tablets or a 
sterno type jellied fuel cooker. There is a menu card showing the 
suggested breakdown for a breakfast, snack and main meal. The meal plan 
for the ratpack is not very different from the meals consumed by many 
backpackers; a quick, easy to prepare breakfast, high carbohydrate 
snacks eaten throughout the day's activities, and a more hearty main 
meal. Breakfast consists of a rolled oats porridge mix, a can of bacon 
grill or baconburger (which can be eaten cold or fried), brown biscuits 
(plain dense cookie/crackers not unlike hardtack with some sugar) and 
powdered cocoa. The snack is placed in uniform pockets or an equipment 
belt pouch (never in an ammo pouch; in a firefight, reaching for a 
magazine and coming up with a chocolate bar can get you seriously 
killed). The snack is consumed throughout the day as desired and as the 
mission allows. It consists of more brown biscuits, a small tin of meat 
spread (chicken, ham, beef, or chicken & bacon), a milk chocolate bar, a 
roll of hard flavored sugar candy, chocolate covered caramels and lemon 
or orange flavored dextrose (glucose) tablets. There are four different 
main meal menus, all in cans; chicken curry, steak & kidney pudding, 
steak & onion casserole and minced steak. The main meal also has fruit 
filled biscuits, instant soup, a side dish (mixed vegetable, pre-cooked 
minute rice, spaghetti in tomato sauce or beans in tomato sauce) and a 
fruit dessert (instant apple flakes, apple & apricot flakes, fruit salad 
or mixed fruit pudding). The 24-hour ratpack also contains six 25-gram 
sugar packets, four tea bags and several one-cup serving instant drink 
packets (four dried skim milk powder, two coffee, one beef stock and one 
orange or lemon drink powder) and sundries (chewing gum, toilet paper, 
salt, book matches, windproof & waterproof matches, water purification 
tablets and a P-38 type folding can opener). Where possible, fresh ratio
ns are issued to supplement the ratpack, but it provides a balanced diet 
of excellent quality and has enough calories and vitamins to keep a 
soldier going on all but the most arduous tasks.


Food for Energy. To perform your mission in combat, you need to give 
your body all the calories and nutrients it needs. To hump your rucksack 
up a mountain or keep warm on a cold day, your body needs to burn up 
lots of digestible food. Whether you are assaulting a hill or lying 
perfectly still in your sleeping bag, your body is constantly expending 
energy. The energy intake supplied by food is measured in units of heat 
energy called calories. A pound of cheese contains about 1,800 calories; 
a pound of margarine 3,300 calories. An individual performing the heavy 
exercise common to outdoor activities in a tactical environment requires 
3,200 to 4,500 calories per day. In cold weather, more calories are 
required to keep the body warm. Rations for the average person should be 
planned to provide about 3,700 calories a day in the summer and 4,250 
calories in the winter. Calories, however, measure only the heat energy 
in food. It would not be adequate, or appetizing, for a soldier in 
winter to consume the required 4,250 calories by eating a pound of 
margarine and half a pound of cheese. In order to put together a ration 
plan for Militia field duty which will encourage the body's efficiency, 
you must also consider the type of calorie you will be consuming.


Most of the calories you need in the field can be provided by 
carbohydrates, the starches and sugars which should make up about half 
of your daily ration. Pasta, flour, rice, potatoes, dried fruit, cocoa, 
pudding, dried milk, powdered eggs, nuts, honey and brown sugar are 
excellent sources of carbohydrates, and are the backbone of a good field 
ration. While some carbohydrates, such as pure sugars, assimilate into 
the body within fifteen minutes of ingestion, which is ideal for an 
instant pick-me-up on a patrol, others, such as the starch in pasta, 
take up to four hours to assimilate. That's fine; the extra time allows 
you to produce energy to warm you through the night or to fuel a long 
march. It should be noted that the nutritive quality of carbohydrates 
can be seriously affected by processing and refining. Whenever possible, 
include whole-grain and unprocessed foodstuffs in your rations.


Fats are a more concentrated form of energy and a more complex form of 
food than carbohydrates, so it usually takes the body from two to nine 
hours to metabolize them. One gram of fat produces nine calories of heat 
energy (more than twice as much as carbohydrates or proteins). While 
fats do not provide the instant vigor that carbohydrates can, they are a 
good long-term energy source to keep you hiking all day and warm all 
night. Fats will be providing energy to your body after carbohydrates 
eaten at the same time have been used up. Twenty-five percent of your 
daily caloric intake in the field should be fats. During the winter a 
higher intake, closer to forty percent, is recommended, since fats play 
such an important role in making your body less sensitive to the cold 
(now you know why blubber is such an important part of the traditional 
Alaskan Native American diet). However, fats require a good blood supply 
in the stomach for digestion. They are likely to be unappetizing, and 
even nauseating under circumstances when circulation is poor, like at 
high altitudes or when you are very cold, dehydrated and exhausted. If 
you don't have a problem digesting fats in cold weather and if you have 
a tendency to get cold in the middle of the night, put a spoonful of 
margarine in your cocoa before going to bed. Your sleeping bag doesn't 
warm you up, you warm it up and its insulation keeps your body heat from 
escaping. You can create body heat either by metabolizing food or by 
shivering; your choice. Other good sources of fats are cheese, coconut, 
bacon, salami, nuts and peanut butter.


Protein is the raw material which most of the body's cells require to 
keep on living. If more protein is consumed than the body needs for 
building and maintaining tissues, it is burned for energy. The protein 
in our bodies is made up of twenty-two chemical substances called amino 
acids. These amino acids can be arranged in a great number of 
formations, and each structure forms a different protein that serves the 
body in a different manner. All amino acids used by the body come from 
food. If some needed amino acids are not present in the diet, the body 
can break down other amino acids and manufacture the required type. 
However, there are eight amino acids which the body cannot manufacture 
called essential amino acids, which must be obtained through the protein 
in the food we eat. Some foods, such as meats, poultry, fish, eggs and 
milk products furnish all eight essential amino acids and are called 
"complete proteins." Other foods, such as beans, peas, lentils, peanuts, 
cereals, vegetables and fruits contain some, but not all, of the eight 
essential amino acids and are called "incomplete proteins." Most of the 
complete protein foods are not very handy for use in the field because 
of weight or spoilage, so learning the proper combination of incomplete 
proteins is an important part of field nutrition. When considering how 
to combine incomplete proteins to create complete proteins, try to 
include foods from at least two of the following groups, either in a 
single meal or over the course of a day: whole grains (rice, flour, 
pasta), dairy products (milk, cheese), legumes (beans, peanuts, 
lentils), and seeds (sesame, sunflower, pumpkin). The most complimentary 
protein relationships are between milk products and grains; grains and 
legumes; and legumes and seeds. Tortillas with beans, rice with nuts, or 
the cornbread and beans diet of the Confederate soldier are all examples 
of combining incomplete proteins to create complete proteins. Even foods 
having complete proteins can be nutritionally enhanced through 
combination. If the protein in one food is relatively low in an 
essential amino acid, it can be combined with a food that is 
particularly high in that amino acid. In this way, essential amino acids 
present in the diet will be in closer proportion to the body's 
requirements for them, thus increasing the usability of the proteins you 
eat. Fish combined with rice, a diet which feeds much of the world's 
population, is an example of this process.


If your field rations contain a balanced variety of carbohydrates, 
proteins and fats, you will probably ingest an adequate supply of 
vitamins and minerals for a short bivouac. For an extended stay in the 
field you might consider supplementing your diet with vitamins, 
particularly vitamin C. If supplemental vitamins are a regular part of 
your diet at home, it is probably best to include them in your field 
rations.


Drinking an adequate amount of water aids in the digestion of foods, 
keeps cells healthy, regulates body temperature and helps carry wastes 
out of the body. Strenuous activity and high altitude usually increase 
the amount of water lost from the body through sweating. In cold 
weather, you can also lose about two quarts of liquid per day through 
respiration. Dehydration can make you susceptible to hypothermia, 
frostbite, mountain sickness, heat stroke and many other problems. In 
the summer you should drink a minimum of two or three quarts of water 
per day (strenuous activity in the desert sun can cause a fluid loss of 
close to one gallon per hour). In the winter a minimum of three or four 
quarts are essential. The easiest way to insure you replace enough 
fluids is to drink liquids at all meals and drink water whenever you are 
thirsty. Even if you are not thirsty, it is important to drink water at 
all rest stops throughout the day. When moving through areas where 
potable drinking water is in short supply, plan ahead and carry an 
adequate amount with you. Keeping track of your urine output is a good 
way to make sure you are getting enough water. You should be urinating 
at least two or three times a day. The urine should be clear and light 
unless there is a specific reason for color change, such as taking 
vitamin B supplements, which can turn the urine a darker yellow. Many 
people have a tendency to drink their morning coffee and then hit the 
trail. Keep in mind that coffee and tea are diuretics and can cause 
dehydration. Before you move out, drink a full cup of water after your 
coffee to get off to a good start.


Good nutrition is the first criterion for selecting rations for a stay 
in the field. A nutritionally balanced diet will begin with whole 
grains, dairy products, legumes and seeds. It should also include some 
meats or meat substitutes, fruits and vegetables, and sweets. The chart 
in the next column provides a guideline for a nutritionally balanced 
summer ration (increase fats to 40 percent in winter):


Percentage (by weight; not including non-nutritive food items such as 
coffee, tea, salt and spices) of total rations in each major food group:


Meat or meat substitutes 11% 
Dried meats, eggs, soy products (3%) 
Nuts, seeds, legumes (8%) 


Dairy products 18% 
Powdered milk and milk drinks (10%) 
Cheese (8%) 


Fruit and vegetables 13% 
Dried vegetable, potatoes (7%) 
Dried fruit (6%) 


Grains and grain products 33% 
Flour, biscuit mix, cake mix (11%) 
Cereals, wheat germ, granola (11%) 
Pasta, rice, barley, etc. (11%) 


Margarine and oils 8% 


Sweets 17% 
Sugar and honey (8%) 
Fruit drinks, Jell-O, puddings (9%) 


Field Ration Planning. The Militia training manual "Citizen Soldier" by 
Robert Bradley recommends a five-day field ration of three one-quart 
Nalgene plastic bottles (one each of minute rice, macaroni and instant 
mashed potatoes), a small bottle of salt, some spices, a medium bottle 
of Tang and a plastic bottle of squeeze margarine, supplemented with 
some vitamins, canned tuna, candy bars, instant cocoa, coffee or tea. 
This plan is certainly better than the half-pound each of chocolate and 
raisins recommended to the British Home Army during World War II, but 
you can do better with the food selection techniques used in modern 
lightweight backpacking which are described in the next section.



