New Zealand Army Soldier Rates US Military MRE | Boot Camp | Business Insider

A New Zealand Army soldier tries a US military MRE - or Meal, Ready-to-Eat - and compares it to New Zealand MREs. An MRE is designed to sustain soldiers during training or an operation while food-service facilities are inaccessible.
Sam, a bombardier serving in the New Zealand Army's 16th Field Regiment, asked us not to use his full name for operational-security reasons.
While much of the American MRE Sam tries resembles a New Zealand MRE, he shared some terms that many Americans may not be familiar with, such as "scroggin." We asked Sam to heat up an MRE's main course of creamy spinach fettuccine using the flameless ration bag. He also reveals what he plans to eat once he's back home in New Zealand.
In November 2023, the New Zealand Army participated in the Joint Pacific Multinational Readiness Center training exercise hosted by the US Army's 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii.
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MRE Review - New Zealand Soldier Rates US Army Field Rations | Boot Camp | Business Insider

[@jiema2020]

you guys handing him a spinach fettuccine is the worst thing to happen to NZ-US relations in the last half century

[@BIGJATPSU]

🤣🤣☠☠ I mean.... he did pick it for his own reason.

[@yaseer_507]

😆 🤣 😂

[@derrickheng564]

Baked bean on toast enuff said aha ha ha ha

[@Johnthecollie]

You’ve never had the veggie omelette. My dad brought one back for me from Kuwait. The worst i had while I was in the service was the southwest black bean. Shit fucks your stomach up.

[@jastrapper190]

I agree. The “veggie” MRE options were consistently the most awful tasting meals. He needed Beef Stew with cheese and crackers mashed up together. That was tasty.

[@Nemo-wk9tu]

You gave him the Spinach Fettuccine MRE? That is one of the worst you could give. Even Steve1989 could barely eat it and he literally ate century old rations from the Boer War.

[@misterhat5823]

Steve has a habit of saying how bad something is and then going for another bite. If he could barely eat it, that's saying something.

[@wmd202]

Those US Vegetarian MRES arent going to eat themselves you know ! (hint for NZ you bury them when no one is looking)

[@ody734]

creamy is my favorite lol guess im weird

[@bradbrown7273]

Meals rejected by everyone 😂

[@coolgamers2794]

Spinach Fettuccine MRE is still way better than EGG Omelet MRE! 🤣🤣🤣

[@kieranogle8916]

Literally the most kiwi guy i have ever seen and thats coming from a New Zealander

[@antonschollum3128]

Legend

[@NatMG]

aye, sounds more kiwi than me lmao

[@JaemanEdwards]

Shameful having this South Island hick representing NZ

[@JaemanEdwards]

​@@NatMG???

[@NZKiwi87]

Yup, and he’s got that down south drawl on some of his r’s

[@Janko630]

2:57 "That's the MRE heater." "What's it for?" "To heat up your meat pack..." Rock solid interviewer, Business Insider.

[@hairetikos6402]

Just Kiwi responses are pretty dead pan.

[@nuck-]

He's American, tells you all you need to know.

[@TicklmypicklGaming]

end of interview, what are you gonna eat when your back home? Mate, oi already said KFC do you not listen

[@mullups]

I think the interviewer was asking what food was he heating with it. Not what the heater was used for?

[@pingapete666]

no the interviewer specifically said 'what's it for?' when he was holding the heating pack@@mullups

[@pwollerman]

“Aah, it’s not too bad” is how he rates everything. Good bloke.

[@barbsmart7373]

Typical Kiwi.

[@alvarohigino]

He doesn't want to say something is bad, it's called manners.

[@sadie8558]

generic answer for a kiwi lol

[@TheWorldsOkayestUSMarine]

Out of 24 different possible MREs he gets the worst ones. Love our NZ homies though! Especially the ones in artillery, love seeing a fellow gun bunny. 🇳🇿 🇺🇸

[@alexandralite835]

We love you to.

[@TheWorldsOkayestUSMarine]

@@alexandralite835 eat shit

[@SKKT1992]

tortelinni isnt that bad brah

[@3Dwesley]

Cannoncockers.

[@llliiimmmeee]

sending love from the other side of the world! (just dont set up any military bases here please, don't want to end up like aussie XD)

[@JosephMts2]

KFC, the most NZ answer 😂

[@LeSwexy]

facts hahahahaha give this man a Zinger box 😂

[@mattsmith3135]

I'm surprised he didn't say a pie.

[@SKPonr]

Agreed

[@yakkattack]

Fush n Chups

[@AkashSharma-vj4ck]

@@yakkattack unlike the aussies "feesh n cheeps"

[@apollogaming7439]

This dude has incredible teeth, surprised no one has noticed?

[@jackiechan_wtf4041]

His pearly whites are brighter than my future. 🙃

[@sghaxzor202]

We get free dental till we turn 18,most of have good teeth

[@gsd4me00]

I did, more than likely done on the NZ taxpayer dime too. They look even more so against the make-up.

[@garethpreston8275]

New Zealand people are like American people, we're not British.

[@tamimi9231]

@@garethpreston8275 British dentalcare is one of the best in the world, better than America lmfao

[@user-pb7gs5sn5c]

Dude is so polite and chill. Maybe I'm overreaching a little bit, but I don't think I've ever encountered anything to do with New Zealand that I haven't liked. Never been there, but from what gets to me here in the US, I'm envious.

[@LogieT2K]

The only bad things here are ours road and current geopolitical apathy 😂

[@ma61king]

@@LogieT2KDon't forget the outrageos house prices and cost of living in general, ever-increasing gang violence and failing infrastructure

[@richardscanlan3419]

Sadly,the truth.@@ma61king

[@JaemanEdwards]

​@@ma61king"Gang violence" 😂😂😂 Stfu.

[@NZKiwi87]

It’s good here 😊 wish he’d clean under his nails tho, specially for filming.

[@CaptainBill22]

Col. Sanders: "Captain, get that man some fried chicken!"

[@misterhat5823]

KFC is the worst in the US. Supposedly it is actually good in other countries.

[@m4a1_delta66]

@@misterhat5823here in Canada Quebec is disgusting but mostly from neglect from the workers rather the food being bad Depends where you go some are ok and pretty decent but most of them are ppl that hate there life’s and don’t respect cleanliness of being a fast food place

[@ShadowOfDeadRhodes21]

It depends on where you get it from though yeah. Not to judge but a lot of the people around here who work the fast food restaurants don't really take pride in their job.​ I have never really known what it was about but in small little areas like Theodore Alabama down here people around the Black folk who work them and they seem like they always have an attitude but idk. That maybe most people. I'd say the Popeyes is a lot better than KFC though@@misterhat5823

[@ghoward562]

After Covid lockdowns the lines outside the kfc stores was miles long worse then McDonald’s in Auckland Nz

[@ytzpilot]

He is correct KFC is still good in New Zealand and very popular with Maori and Pacific Island people

[@bigboi7817]

20 pack of wicked wings goes hard

[@fuzzy3440]

During Desert Storm we would put the main meal in the engine bay of our armored vehicles and leave them there all day, so they'd be warm and we could eat quickly, since we didn't know how long we might be stationary. I lived off those things for many months. I can attest to the fact that it's Meal-Resisting-Exit.

[@charleslumberger8441]

Thank you for your service

[@ronv6637]

Fuzzy, you weren't hydrating enough. At least one canteen per MRE plus 3-4 more. But too much cheese could stop you up.

[@truedemoknight6784]

I can't imagine going that long off just MREs. I get so stopped up after just two days in the field, much less weeks or months. I'm usually a regular daily shitter but after being in the field I'll be shitting at the weirdest times, or sometimes I just can't shit at all...

[@DarkHawk666]

You lose or gain weight?

[@JaemanEdwards]

Bullshit. You would only need an hour to cook. Not all day you fool.

[@deceptivesheep5792]

Glad to see Old Greg cleaned himself off and started a new life.

[@ou4534]

😂

[@johnriddington9514]

Ask him how he illuminates the target ;) ;)

[@ausinasmith96]

I WAS THINKING THIS ASWELL!!

[@Lex-wx3ib]

imagine if there was baileys in the MRE

[@fallout28]

lol great comment

[@tannerbyrd9958]

The small laugh before the first bite of fettuccine is accurate.

[@daniellenard2872]

He is being polite not to be disrespectful which he wouldn’t be at all. The initial look and wince on his face said it all

[@Contentment-through-basics]

But he did say he had eaten to many.

[@asahearts1]

He didn't prop it up on "a rock or something."

[@dabakes]

i die every time i read that

[@elchaposione5808]

This dude makes me proud of all our pakeha kiwis who are just chill in any setting..

[@michaelmarama-de4gx]

Our Pakeha brothers are honestly chill, well most of em😂

[@seanrota3359]

For our American friends, this soldier sounds like he is from the Southland region at the bottom of the South Island of NZ. As a Kiwi, yeah his "accent" is heavy, the way he sounds his Rs suggests he's from the deep south. Kiwis love KFC, anything free too so doesn't matter just put it in the bag they'll eat it!

[@tancredbey606]

Definitely not a Jaffa for sure

[@seanrota3359]

@@tancredbey606 Agree!

[@JaemanEdwards]

Shameful to have a South Island hick representing NZ.

[@kevin5073]

Nope. I'm a Southlander and the Southland R is a lot harsher than what I am hearing. Definitely a South Islander though.

[@seanrota3359]

@@kevin5073 As a Wellingtonian I shall defer to you on this!

[@kiwiryker]

KIWI PROUD - ANZACS ❤

[@Loscha]

At 4:45 he is saying a "pottle" of peanut butter. A pottle in NZ is a small container of something, either pre-made from the factory like peanut butter, jam or Vegemite, or a small serving of nuts or dried fruits.

[@subculturenz]

A pottle is pretty much a plastic jar, but in NZ we only call it a jar if it is made of glass, if it is a jar made of plastic then it is a pottle.

[@houstonswisha143]

roughyl how big like something to grab and eat at once or like a small container fora couple days

[@drewmis1]

​@@houstonswisha143 i would presume enough for a day or two

[@user-pb7gs5sn5c]

A bottle, but paller.

[@Hyoscyamus369]

How did I end up reading this comment thread after eating some shiny golden blue mushrooms . Pre pottle everything seemed easier and made sense and now nothing doesn’t 😮

[@ianray8823]

Not even thes awful MREs can deter him, glad he's on our side

[@tyzaprinceXD]

Love our USA Brothers. This was an awesome watch. Respect from New Zealand.

[@rodjones482]

Just another bloody awesome Kiwi. Kiwi proud!

[@jinwoooooooo1]

*he has this nice vibes and i can feel it lol i think, we need more mre episode with this guy lol*

[@BunderChowed]

Alright, let's get this out on a tray. Nice!

[@ravenks1sr15]

Lmao saw this one coming

[@jackiechan_wtf4041]

*sniff *Oh God! that smells rancid! *continues sniffing 😅😅

[@BunderChowed]

@@jackiechan_wtf4041 the takes a bite

[@emeralse]

"Do you just open it by hand?" This is the worst interviewer ever, what did he expect? For him to pull out a pair of kitchen scissors to cut the packet open???? LMAO

[@FutureRobert]

You dont know how good those energy bars were. Everytime I got them in my MRE it was like Christmas.

[@madeintexas3d442]

One day me and my dad are at a gun show and they had some of these for sale. My dad called my mom and said go downstairs I am bringing something special home for dinner. We laid out a bunch of MREs on the table and invited her up. She was not impressed.

[@teaodaly5335]

crazy to see this just pop up haha kiaora from Aotearoa Opotiki soldier and thanks for your service

[@JaemanEdwards]

Do you know Dean Mio from Opotiki ? He was a senior when I was a junior at school and in army cadets. I heard he went into the SAS.

[@teaodaly5335]

@@JaemanEdwards cant say i do know him, I know the Mio family though but Willie Apiata is our legend

[@mrdodge4529]

I'm from nz, when I was living in canada i would always suggest getting kfc and people would look at me like i was some kind of animal. I finally got some when i was on my own and thru it out after one bite. The difference is night and day.

[@NewKanyeFan]

Basic training US Army. On a field training exercise, I was handed a pork sausage MRE. The worst in my opinion. I told my drill sgt "I can't eat this it isn't Kosher, I am jewish" Drill sgt gave me a tortellini MRE. I was satisfied. Next day I was in the DFAC eating bacon. Drill sgt blew his fuse, asking me "why tf are you eating bacon? You said you were jewish!" I responded. "Freedom of religion drill sgt, I smelled bacon and converted" "Well played carry on private"

[@Halfcocked1222]

Oh god, even Steve couldn't say anything nice about the spinach fettuccine and he's liked food that was literally rotten

[@StealthFB22]

Now you should give the US soldiers a Kiwi MRE haha!

[@user-pb7gs5sn5c]

For some reason I suspect it might be better than the creamy spinach fettuccine.

[@JaemanEdwards]

The hangi mre is the best. That and the steak and cheese mre.

[@fern9234]

"I'm old Greg!"

[@georgespringett1063]

everyone saying interviewer got him the worst MRE, the guy literally said he asked for it as he hadnt tried it before, clearly you lot dont listen 😂😂

[@MrKbtor2]

Had the gulf war (91-92) surplus leftover MREs in 96 in the Canadian army. The Canadian army MREs were from some small company in Quebec and were amazing but cost $25-$30 at that time. These modern ones look pretty decent.

[@user-lw5eb6xj3o]

Soldier: "Theres chewing gum" Producer: "Can you try that?" Soldier: *Chews* "its peppermint" 😂😂😂 dunno why i found that hilarious

[@russjacks4583]

Man, so much better options than when I was in the Marines. Hopefully they got rid of the omelette MRE. Sooo bad. Chili Mac was pretty good and I loved the MRE bread and granola bar.

[@TheWorldsOkayestUSMarine]

Oh, stop daydreaming about the good ol' days, ya old fart! (I got out in 2016...I constantly find myself saying "Well, when I was in...") Lol, these kids really don't know how good they have it though. Semper Fidelis

[@dethofgod666]

I had one in 2010 I'm almost positive it was rotten unless it was supposed to smell like vinegar

[@nathangriffiths6218]

Scroggin and KFC, the cornerstones of New Zealand cuisine :)

[@Marcellolin22]

Gotta try out the American Halal and Kosher MRE. Now those are amazing. I always bring myself some good ol Tapatio or Sriracha to get the flavor going.

[@mattkoselowski-wh9vj]

Also 1992 flamless heaters added. In the Aussie Army we were using Hexi tabs and stove, or if mounted ( Armour etc) - then also got issued a small gas stove and a jaffle iron.

[@everythingUTrealestate]

The directions on the MRE heater bag is to literally put it on "a rock or something" while warming lol

[@colonelfustercluck486]

I'm pretty sure that he is aware of this, but thru practical experience he understands that there is no need for that. The rock thing is a precaution for inexperienced users, so that they don't lay it on their cellphone or their chocolate bars or on an inflatable boat. (Directions are for the absolute obedience of the inexperienced, and for the guidance of the wise)

[@KingDeadMan]

The pretzels taste like combo's pretzels. They're really good! 😯👍

[@donnakawana]

I was homeless during the pandemic...An we were given a case of MRE's which is 2 wks worth of meals it you eat 1 a day..plus all the extras saved our lives .. but flavor,well its missing some flavors...! This was fun to watch!!

[@matthewcullen1298]

I hope you're ok now mate

[@vipergtsmre]

You gave him the worst of the 24 menus... not cool, but I do like the maple pork patty.

[@Bonk-oz3pv]

maple pork patty fucks

[@miguelm6195]

This soldier deserves a Medal of Honor for giving it a 6 out of 10 😂

[@joshuapierson5682]

Thank you for your service, soldier.

[@skidlinerz]

Classic Kiwi, good on ya Mate

[@bigdaveo397]

In the British Army we used to get the famous 'Biscuit Browns' Like an oat biscuit but made with more cardboard 😅 But passable when the cheese spread was on

[@alinzelnan]

5:32 lol that tear notch isn't just for show, works pretty well almost every time

[@jefffaulkner2875]

For those of you who do not know. When you're in the field, you don't EVER get to use the heating source! It's lunchtime, you have three minutes!

[@johnlee4249]

One of my favorite MREs was the beef patty meal and cheese spread, only trouble though the beef patty was not ever big enough to fill me up. LURP MRE's were also good.

[@country1116]

KFC got rid of the hot wings in the States atleast in P.A, everyone loved them but KFC said they didn't sell

[@xovain4574]

kfc is great in Australia & NZ, idk about America tho

[@SetaSayin]

huh .. that means everyone hates it

[@misterhat5823]

@@xovain4574It's not great here. KFC is used as a case study in business programs. Ourl local KFC is awful. A 30 minute wait for chicken that's been sitting there since last week. Dry, hard as a rock, and cold.

[@xovain4574]

@@misterhat5823 You must have a bad KFC, my local KFC is great. Fresh chicken, low wait times, great stuff!

[@ezbg]

Best kfc I had was in Morocco, it was a spicy rice chicken dish

[@howwedoze3376]

Hero mate thank you

[@Copedipper94]

I love this video!! We need more damnit

[@MackDonaldo]

lol I used to take the stickers of the First Strike bars and put them on my canteen

[@Zulutime44]

These MREs look pretty good for field rations. In my active duty days the best were "individual meals", consisting of excellent canned food . The worst were the old Combat Rations, everything you need for one day. Three of those in you kit and you were ready for the line of departure.

[@muhammadfahmi7159]

In Singapore, our own version of MRE or Combat Rations has improved but many Singapore service personnel will agree that US MRE is much better than Singapore version.

[@brohanfromrohan5771]

Block you up is an understatement. It came to a point in Iraq where I was only eating crackers and peanut butter and didn't shit for a week.

[@michabartnik4481]

kiwi accent through the roof. i have a kiwi friend of mine, sometimes its hard to comprehend what this guy is saying XD

[@megladon89]

NZ folk are pretty good people, glad they're on our side!

[@tesstickles1280]

Did he paint his face just for this challenge? So perfectly done!

[@balaramalauder]

I can taste that water bottle from just watching this video 😂

[@nopewhy6047]

gotta love his face when he gets asked about how he opens the mre bag lol

[@1.4142]

awkward but funny

[@IAmGeeeWiz]

Nah mate, not awkward, that's just a typical kiwi

[@marleyboy7732]

always heard mixed stories about mre's. Some like it an some not. Some even wish they had food like Vietnam. Even getting cigs in there mre's. My oldest is crazy about these. And is the only person that wants these for xmas & his b-day. So his aunt an Uncle (Army) send him quite a few bags. That boy could be in a middle of a war, surrounded by other troops just dreaming about american fast food or Mama's cookin. And he would be like an excited child with a bag of mre's. Crazy boy lol

[@NadjaKREUZ]

Super nice guy you found for tasting the food 🙂👍

[@TheRawdawg]

Chili Mac was my favorite

[@conneralexander7514]

I loved the chicken pesto pasta MRE. Any time that was available I would snag it. I never ate the meals heated, I preferred them cold.

[@jeffreymacintyre2711]

I got so constipated from MREs in the 90s when I was in the US Army. I always ate it cold, never heated it up

[@SpcKringUSA]

What happened to the Hot Sauce bottle that was in the MRE's? Those made the MRE's way better

[@sin7wu]

He got all the good ones!

[@GoldenAgeofCOD]

They he grimaced with the maple patty lol. That was always my favorite tho lol. I love the maple muffin with it

[@andoyskies9855]

Handsome soldier

[@JaemanEdwards]

Gaybo

[@yaseer_507]

Chilli mack and chicken fajitas are the best

[@simogamez]

When i was in Nz had 4 different ration packs A and B were really good C and D not so much. we had Chicken teriyaki it was awful but that was back in 2003 to 2006 so thankfully the menu has changed.

[@Verystoic]

maybe its the way its packaged, but something about MRE's make me want to try one, i also find the almost primitive and resourceful means of preparing and preserving the food by said packaging to be very intruiging, making me almost wish all the snacks i buy could be packaged like this. but again thats probably cuz i've never actually had one.

[@MikecWilliams-kn7qu]

I had the MRE from early 90's. Gulf war addection. Love pork patty and bread biscuit. Our heaters were the sun or engine block. Would block you after week of eating

[@RayzemUp1986]

Kia ora bro love ups from the homeland. Yes we have good KFC here. Thank you for your services

[@ksb1050]

HAKA Food Army Rations of NZ 😮 Spicy for sure

[@allenbateman3518]

Don't know why my Dad had a stash of MREs while he was in the service, but, I use to open them up for the gum.. That was in 85, in Germany.

[@kurkruk70]

I love his MACV-SOG boonie hat! He cut down the brim like the old Green Berets did in Vietnam!

[@Hendo1955]

Go the 16th Field My Dad would have loved that stuff in Korea 1952

[@Vyzard]

I was so expecting him to say he has a fav fish and chips from an obscure shop, but not KFC lol

[@JaemanEdwards]

He ain't a real Kiwi despite his ridiculous hick accent.

[@sadie8558]

That bloody accent, always warms my heart to hear my fellow countrymen speak

[@1koolkat76]

Hot sauce makes everything taste better.

[@Lockdown335]

I knew this lad would go for Wicked Wings hahaha a man of class and elegance if i do say so

[@askedkedeldeif]

I never knew Old Gregg went and joined the military 😬

[@TWylie]

NZ MRE look about the same as this, I never want them again. Stops you shitting for about a week

[@Kurisu2077]

The spinach fettuccine MRE is my favorite.

[@MattUK36]

Next time try the 🇪🇸 Spanish rations.....thank me later 😉

[@Zachieboi_12]

NEW ZEALAND MENTION RAHHHHHH!!

[@tssteelx]

To quote Mre Steve , " Nice."

[@tonyd8936]

That's toilet paper, not napkins in the accessory pack; but obviously you can use it however you want.

[@simonkupa5041]

Good old fashion kiwi lad . Gotta love the kiwi humor chur bro

[@JaemanEdwards]

He's a hick

[@davidgoldsen8504]

Those meals were made for eat when you can . The heaters are good for blowing up bottles.

[@sameenfatima143]

Good guy

[@thomaswright5492]

We had LRRP rations in Nam and thought they were pretty good. On the other hand, I am remembering this from 55 years ago so...:-)

[@CadyCadwell]

NZ is so far from war and no one bothered to invade them. yet here they're, with us allies. glad to have kiwis on our side

[@gd5812]

Those heaters also make for fantastic canteen bombs! Hook your buddy up with a boiling surprise, he will thank you