Stars and Stripes front page a few days back carried some alarming news, arguably more unsettling to the service member deployed in Afghanistan than the current round of conflict reporting or even stories the activities of the supreme leader of North Korea.
As US packs up in Afghanistan, the return of the dreaded MRE
Admittedly, compared to conditions at the forward operating bases (FOB), food and conditions at places like Kandahar and Bagram Airfield appear a lot like vacation resorts. While you can’t get off-base to make a visit to a nearby restaurant or chaikhana, the food in the dining facilities (D-Fac) is quite good. There are a variety of familiar franchise food outlets if you wish to purchase something reminiscent of home.
Most of the reader’s mail in response to the article expresses a bit of schadenfreude. Things back home are not that great and people don’t think that shifting to the current generation of MREs (meals ready to eat) is a big deal.
Discipline has been maintained so far. By October when the plan is implemented there might not be enough people around to make for an effective food riot. In any case, when the generators go back home ice cream and fish won’t have much of a shelf life in Afghanistan. An MRE might start looking better at that time.
I was on Bagram Airfield in the summer of 2002 when the very first KBR operated DFAC opened. Prior to that we all lined up at an army field kitchen once or twice per day and had an MRE available for the non-hot meal. Now I’m within spitting distance of the bookend of the “luxurious” contracted DFAC era!