Unless they've changed them in the recent past, they are in a dark brown plastic heat sealed bag with black lettering. The newer ones may be in a lighter brown pouch so I guess it will depend on what time period you're trying to represent.

There's an assortment of different menu items in each case.

What color are the individual MRE packets? Are all MREs in a carton the same or are they mixed? Thanks

Here is a great pic by Pete Becerra showing the old (left side) vs. newer (right side) MREs.

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Here is a great pic by Pete Becerra showing the old (left side) vs. newer (right side) MREs.

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Yep-- that's a good depiction. Now for my broken tooth story. In 1983 my Company was selected along with several other Fort Lewis based units to test the MRE concept in the field at Yakima Firing Range. Each case of the "new" MREs came with 12 one page evaluation sheets, one for each meal, asking the "consumer" everything about the meal from packaging to texture to flavor and ease of preparation. The only way you could get the next meal was to turn in the evaluation sheet from the last meal-- and we had to eat MREs three times a day for two weeks. There were 21 menu options, which meant everyone got to rate at least two of every option. One platoon of the four in my Company had to eat C-rations as a control, using the same evaluation sheet.
I was parked in a 1/4 ton on top of one of the "Knuckles" at Yakima firing range, eating a meal which had two chocolate covered oatmeal cookies wrapped in the vacuum sealed thermo-foil wrapper. These were a little smaller than a hockey puck, but seemed about as hard. As I bit down into the cookie, it was so hard I could only get through the chocolate coating. I finally resorted to cutting the cookie into chunks with my Field knife (a USN UDT knife I carried back then). This was a mistake as it just made the super hard cookies smaller. Popping one small bite in my mouth I bit down hard and split my number 3 molar right in two-- there was instant pain, and a little blood. My driver drove me into the aid station that afternoon-- but there was no dentist, so I had to drive back to Fort Lewis by 1/4 ton for emergency dental treatment-- a distance of 150 miles one way. I forgot to leave my evaluation sheet with the Mess Sergeant, which meant I couldn't pick up any meals-- by the time I got back, I hadn't eaten for two days-- (not that I could with a busted tooth anyway). The chocolate oatmeal cookies were eliminated from the testing and a warning went out through all the units to collect them so they could be discarded. Needless to say, my evaluation was pretty scathing. There were some other menu items that never made it into the meals too-- I remember a greasy non-dehydrated pork chop, powdered scrambled eggs that had to be reconstituted and a dehydrated meatloaf patty-- those were some of the bad items. But there were good items that never made it into the initial issue -- dehydrated Neoploitan ice cream was one-- it was pretty good, although it didn't resemble real ice cream. So all of you who've eaten MREs and not lost a tooth in the process have me to thank for eliminating at least one of the hazardous food items!
VR, Russ

It's odd that you tested them in 1983. We (1st Armd Div.) were using them since the latter part of 1982. In July of that year, a couple of guys from VII Corps came by the Supply Room and were inspecting our MCI Rations. I asked our Supply Sgt., SSgt. Harry "Elvis" Delgado what the deal was. He said that the guys were Veterinary Corps personnel and they determined that all of the MCI rations were "unfit for human consumption" (we already knew that) and were to be replaced with MRE's. We were wondering what the hell an "MRE" was. Being the Supply Sgt., you would think that Elvis would know. Well, around the end of the month, Elvis picked up 200 cases at Furth, just in time for our Division FTX. Each meal was sealed in a heavy, dark brown, tear-proof pouch. My CO banned knives from being carried in the field; so, it was tough going to open them.

First the pros:

No Ham & Eggs, Chopped and no tuna fish.

The bagged spaghetti w/meat sauce was better than the old canned version. The Chicken a la King was pretty tasty also. Ditto with the beef w/BBQ sauce.

The cons:

Different types of dehydrated meats like rectangular bricks of pork sausage and beef patties. They tasted like crap and had some of us actually reminiscing about the Ham & Eggs and tuna.

No Beef Slices w/Potatoes in the menu. This was an old B-2 MCI ration which included the highly coveted and trade-worthy pound cake and cocoa powder. Pretty much tasteless but nothing that some Tabasco sauce couldn't remedy. At least it wasn't dehydrated.

No "Dead Duke" bars, ie, Candy Disc, Chocolate. They sucked; but, in a pinch, came in handy for a sugar rush.

No Pound Cake.

No Cocoa Powder to make chocolate sauce to pour on the now-deleted pound cake and make "Ranger Pudding". The dehydrated ice cream wasn't too bad. I bet it would have tasted great with the pound cake, though. Oh, those chocolate covered oatmeal cookies? We had them. The little German kids we gave them to would curse at us whenever they got them, just like they did whenever we tried to palm off the "Dead Duke" bars and crackers. It seems other units already received MRE's before we did and were handing out them mini-manhole covers and the little comrades were wise to them.

No fruit slices in syrup. A great thirst quencher and pack of non-dairy creamer mixed into a can of peach slices was pretty good.

The fact that nothing was packed in cans was unfortunate. The smaller cans used for crackers could be made into a field stove to heat up the meals or a canteen cup of water for coffee using hexamine tablets or Sterno.

It's odd that you tested them in 1983. We (1st Armd Div.) were using them since the latter part of 1982. In July of that year, a couple of guys from VII Corps came by the Supply Room and were inspecting our MCI Rations....

BANNED KNIVES? I'm glad I was in the grown up Army.

MRE''s..... Breakfast entrees are probably the most palatable IMHO. Almost time to pop smoke and retire, lol.

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MRE''s..... Breakfast entrees are probably the most palatable IMHO. Almost time to pop smoke and retire, lol.

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I guess we are really off topic-- but this discussion brings back some "fond" memories-- just out of curiousity, what are the current breakfast entree items?? I don't remember any before I retired in 06. A case of MREs is good to have around though for emergencies, and they still sell them to private customers in the commissary. For several years I kept a case in my "big one" survival pack that everyone in Washington State is supposed to have when the "big one" hits. However, they do expire and used to only be good for 7 years. When the last case I had was nearing expiration, I shared it with my church Boy Scout troop leader who took it along for the kids on a two day camp out. According to him, they were initially enthused to eat real "Army" food, but after the first meal they refused to go near them anymore, except for one kid who ate everything left! Speaking of MRE stories, I was assigned to NORAD/USSPACECOM in Colorado Springs-- the only Army guy on the IG staff. my boss was an AF O6 and we had mostly USAF, CAF and Navy pilots assigned. I was asked to set up a field trip to Fort Carson for familiarization with "Ground" operations, and we spent a day in the field with a mech infantry unit. Our Navy F-14 pilot had never eaten an MRE, and he went crazy over them-- eating four meals in a row before I found out (the unit 1st Sergeant found it humorous to supply a "squid" with as many "fortified" meals as he could eat). I had to stop him and warn him that he'd regret eating that many meals in a row in a day or two-- he was skinny as a rail and a bottomless pit, and he told me he thought MREs were delicious, they let him keep four additional meals when we left-- three days later he was still having problems.
VR, Russ

Ask anyone who was in USAREUR between 1972 and 1983 about the 1/6 INF. I was assigned to A Co. It had a reputation as the worst unit in the Army.