What is it about the field chow that never changes?

CPT Jacob Swartout — Fri, 30 May 2014 19:59:25 -0400

One full mermite of gravy in three single pans means only 1/4 of a pan will be used. The salad is really lettuce with a hint of shredded carrots (if that). More spinach than Popeye could eat in one sitting. Short on utensils. Main course, someone swears, was yesterday's leftovers. One pan of mash potatoes with two empty pans in the same mermite. What have you always noticed?

Response by MSG Wade Huffman made May 30 at 2014 9:07 PM

MSG Wade Huffman — Fri, 30 May 2014 21:07:41 -0400

Is watery chili-mac still a field chow staple? Talk about tasteless!!! Red water with macaroni noodles is all it really amounted to!

Response by SSG Jeffrey Spencer made May 30 at 2014 9:43 PM

SSG Jeffrey Spencer — Fri, 30 May 2014 21:43:13 -0400

It's consumed in the field.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made May 30 at 2014 10:40 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 30 May 2014 22:40:23 -0400

Sir,

It makes me long for T-rats.

Response by Cpl Ray Fernandez made May 31 at 2014 12:12 AM

Cpl Ray Fernandez — Sat, 31 May 2014 00:12:15 -0400

The food, sometimes I wonder if it was the same food recycled each time.

Response by Cpl Glynis Sakowicz made May 31 at 2014 11:24 AM

Cpl Glynis Sakowicz — Sat, 31 May 2014 11:24:01 -0400

Field Chow... when I first went in, it was canned, and man some of that was terrifying. I always ended up with a can of Ham and Eggs at supper, and I can't begin to tell you how many times I ate something that was supposed to be spagetti first thing in the morning... after a day of C-rats, I slipped past the main cans and just ate the coconut patties and the crackers!

Response by 1stLt Kevin Paige made May 31 at 2014 12:19 PM

1stLt Kevin Paige — Sat, 31 May 2014 12:19:36 -0400

What field chow? Real infantry, hard chargers, Marines carried pepperoni stick and maybe a little trail mix. Butter stick in cold climate. Hot sauce, coffee and chicklets. Dip the gum in the coffee grinds and pack it like dip between your cheek and gum to keep you awake. High calories, does not go bad and takes up very little space in your pack. Leaving more room for ammo and water.

Response by SGT John " Mac " McConnell made Jun 13 at 2016 12:13 PM

SGT John " Mac " McConnell — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 12:13:16 -0400

SOS that is plopped out onto the mess kit ! One can pick that mess up without utensils and served with green eggs. YUM !

Response by Capt Mark Strobl made Jun 13 at 2016 12:14 PM

Capt Mark Strobl — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 12:14:09 -0400

CPT Jacob Swartout - One thing that never changes: The menu. Seems like we were always eating the same thing... again.

Response by PO3 Steven Sherrill made Jun 13 at 2016 12:39 PM

PO3 Steven Sherrill — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 12:39:20 -0400

CPT Jacob Swartout does field rats qualify one for the Purple Heart? I know in some cases it is more dangerous than enemy fire.

Response by MSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2016 12:42 PM

MSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 12:42:27 -0400

Usually, also, about 4 mermite drink containers. 1 is water, 2 are juices of some sort and only one coffee.........and the coffee runs out after the 3 person gets a cup.

Response by MSgt Daniel Attilio made Jun 13 at 2016 1:02 PM

MSgt Daniel Attilio — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 13:02:45 -0400

Remember thinking aside from the hot coffee and juices would have preferred an MRE. At least no expectations of warmth and you could swap stuff out, everyone got screwed with the same slop when chow was brought to the field.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2016 1:11 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 13:11:27 -0400

Well Sir I am a 92G and proud of it. However, what you are experiencing is carelessness and shortcuts taken by your food service personnel. All my time in Ranger Regiment has shown me that Rangers really get spoiled. I'll share this with you. I just came back from a offsite facility with one of our like companies and I took a guy who is an 11B who wants to be a Ranger Cook. While we were there we were cooking UGR-A but I'm happy to tell you that my Ranger Buddies did not even know they were wearing field rations. I took the time to actually season the food, roast actual garlic and put butter on top of the potatoes and then put them in the oven to get them nice and brown. For the victory meal I cooked 6 Boston butts and a whole pig along with Mac and cheese and other good stuff. Aside from my college experience in the culinary field, I've been to the Army's Advanced Culinary course which I made it a goal to incorporate some of the new skills I learned there into not only the DFAC but for field chow as well. It's all on the leadership within the kitchens near you Sir that can make or break your cooks. We go by a saying, "You're only good as your last meal." Our Rangers know and so do we. Sorry for the short bio haha I'm just passionate about taking care of the guys. I'll try and share some pictures with you of the victory meal.

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2016 1:12 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 13:12:30 -0400

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2016 1:13 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 13:13:13 -0400

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2016 1:14 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 13:14:20 -0400

Response by SSG Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2016 1:20 PM

SSG Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 13:20:12 -0400

The pulled Pork and chicken in the serving like was from a UGR-A. But I also doctored it up to make it taste better along side my Boston butts and the pig. Mac and Cheese was made from scratch as well as the baked beans. My Rangers forgot they were in the field hahaha. I live to show the line guys that their cooks can do more than chili Mac and fried chicken.

Response by SFC Pete Kain made Jun 13 at 2016 2:36 PM

SFC Pete Kain — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 14:36:37 -0400

The bitching about the quality. Sometimes it is deserved, more often it's not. Think about what it takes to feed troops in the field.

Response by CPT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2016 6:18 PM

CPT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 18:18:45 -0400

"Victory Punch" or whatever that orange/red water stuff is called nowadays.

Response by SGT Philip Roncari made Jun 13 at 2016 6:34 PM

SGT Philip Roncari — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 18:34:12 -0400

My late father was a Mess Sergeant in an armour unit stateside during WW II my brother and I would never have the nerve to complain about chow in our respective services him Airforce myself Army although I suspect my brother's dining experiences were not as shall we say challenging as mine.

Response by TSgt Scott Hurley made Jun 13 at 2016 6:54 PM

TSgt Scott Hurley — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 18:54:11 -0400

Combat chow.... mmmmmm.... Slop and slop.... Take your pick.... lol

Response by TSgt Scott Hurley made Jun 13 at 2016 6:58 PM

TSgt Scott Hurley — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 18:58:04 -0400

Now being serious here.....

I know in the AF they only would do this sort of thing maybe during war time in the field. I remember during an exercise at Cannon AFB, they set up a field kitchen. In it they served eggs, it was night of course, SOS, and I think bacon. That was it. You did not get a choice of what to eat. After that exercise no more field kitchen but MRE's. At least we got a choice.

Response by SFC Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2016 7:03 PM

SFC Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 19:03:08 -0400

Never changes? Unlimited amounts of hot sauce! That's all that's needed.

Response by SGM Mikel Dawson made Jun 13 at 2016 8:45 PM

SGM Mikel Dawson — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 20:45:37 -0400

That taste and smell of a hot "A" after getting the packaged stuff. Nothing better!

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Jun 13 at 2016 9:01 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 21:01:39 -0400

There's always someone down-right ungrateful.

Response by CW3 Richard Mann made Jun 14 at 2016 7:48 AM

CW3 Richard Mann — Tue, 14 Jun 2016 07:48:13 -0400

I pulled KP a couple times long ago, I never ever envied the kitchen staff! Army chow caused my life long addiction to hot sauce. I've offended a many cooks with my need for hot sauce !

Response by SSgt James Atkinson made Jun 16 at 2016 10:06 AM

SSgt James Atkinson — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 10:06:09 -0400

Always too much gravy, and the gravy always had a skin on it.

Response by MAJ Ken Landgren made Apr 1 at 2019 8:24 PM

MAJ Ken Landgren — Mon, 01 Apr 2019 20:24:55 -0400

Hot chow on a cold day is just great!

Response by SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth made Apr 2 at 2019 5:50 AM

SGT David A. 'Cowboy' Groth — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 05:50:25 -0400

The way the food looks when it's dished up to the troops, same old clumped together eggs, slightly soggy potatoes, dry waffles that take 4 containers of syrup to get close to chewable.

Response by Maj John Bell made Apr 2 at 2019 6:13 AM

Maj John Bell — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 06:13:38 -0400

That if you force march Marines long enough, they are too tired to bitch about field chow. Takes about 3 days and moving 15-20 miles per day while running patrols all night.

Response by SPC Casey Ashfield made Apr 2 at 2019 7:03 PM

SPC Casey Ashfield — Tue, 02 Apr 2019 19:03:26 -0400

Seeing some of these "field rations" is funny to me. Some of you lived pretty nice on field chow. I recall my worst field rations were a paper bag lunch. It composed of a dinner roll, pad of butter, mayo, mustard, and a bag of chips. Turns out the supply guy was dating the catering service that provided these generous and gourmet meals. I'll take an MRE over that any day.

Response by CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member made Apr 9 at 2019 12:13 PM

CWO3 Private RallyPoint Member — Tue, 09 Apr 2019 12:13:07 -0400

Never had a bad meal in the field, with one exception. Locals contracted a hot meal a day in Saudi and it was nasty. The "mystery meat" was horse-like. USMC chow was always good to go.

Response by SPC Donn Sinclair made Oct 7 at 2021 7:38 AM

SPC Donn Sinclair — Thu, 07 Oct 2021 07:38:14 -0400

Hot chow in the field or cold C-Rats. I'd take what was in the mermite cans any time.

Response by Lt Col Charlie Brown made Aug 9 at 2022 8:19 AM

Lt Col Charlie Brown — Tue, 09 Aug 2022 08:19:10 -0400

That they try to hide the "food" under the gravy

Response by Amn Dale Preisach made Feb 15 at 2023 11:50 AM

Amn Dale Preisach — Wed, 15 Feb 2023 11:50:30 -0500

The expiration date already being expired well before you get them.

Response by SPC Rob Smith made Mar 24 at 2023 10:44 PM

SPC Rob Smith — Fri, 24 Mar 2023 22:44:19 -0400

Remember C-rations, humping around them around adding the extra ten lbs you didnt need. tmThem mre that was an awsome upgrade...
Of course chillin in the rear with K-rations..yummy.
now we know the army moves on its stomach... i really miss green eggs..

Response by SGT Frank Cosner made Sep 17 at 2023 9:02 AM

SGT Frank Cosner — Sun, 17 Sep 2023 09:02:16 -0400

The eggs or egg block of grossness! Hated them.

Response by SGT Mary G. made Jul 21 at 2024 9:43 PM

SGT Mary G. — Sun, 21 Jul 2024 21:43:40 -0400

Everyone always lined up, no matter what was ahead . . . (and had an MRE or two stashed away, just in case).