How to Field Strip an MRE | Ranger School, Special Forces, Basic Training, Military, Survival

[@davidparmly8828]

Back in the good old days, we would unpack our C rations and stack the cans in a OD wool sock so they wouldn’t rattle, made them easy to store in the main cargo compartment. Accessories went into the middle pocket of the ALICE large. Yes, I am that old!

[@MrLynch-ei4dc]

I had the ALICE large sack when I was with the 307th ENG. Airborne and yes...our MREs were in the dark brown bags. 🤣🤣🤣

[@davidparmly8828]

Gritty - if you're ever hurting for material, maybe an episode with a couple of people from "back in the day" comparing the Ranger School experience. Do a Teams interview or something. Might be helpful and fun!

[@franky2shoes660]

Up in Canada we used the large Alice ruck until the 90s...we would field strip our IMPs (our version of MREs)and pack them the same way, albeit no cans.

[@henrygill5550]

David Parmly - Hear! Hear! - Brother. We stripped out C, stack the cans in OD wool socks and tie them to the outside of our Alice rucks. Many of us carried bulk rice in plastic bags inside another OD sock, along with an onion, a couple of potatoes and Tabasco sauce to stretch the field meals whenever possible. SOP was to always have 2-3 cans of either Vienna Sausages or Sardines in your ruck as emergency/Iron Rations - only consumed in emergencies (i.e., no resupply). Not 5-star Michelin, but acceptable.

[@davidparmly8828]

@@henrygill5550 We sound so freaking old to these pups, I am sure. I tell people my Ranger Class carried Brown Bess muskets in the TVD. Nope, never put C-Socks on the outside of the ruck but had them against the inside walls to you just needed to grab the top of the sock and pull it up and out in the dark. What's for dinner? Sock Surprise!

[@NoleMercy]

Former Recon here, the calories in those things were so high we would average out 1.5 MREs each a day (depending on terrain & weather) with adding 3 days for failed extraction and strip ours down much like you did. 2 week Ops wouldn't leave much wiggle room in weight if we packed 3/day as directed by MLOs. We stripped EVERYTHING for weight without compromising integrity and hit MWA with brass & bang, gun parts and equipment. The joke was 'we could be fat and throwing rocks or we could be fed and returning fire' lol. Great insight into the not so public side of mission prep, brother 👊

[@ToysRUsKid_Critter]

And shit concrete blocks for weeks …former Airborne Sapper here brother ☺️🤙

[@HDSME]

@@ToysRUsKid_Critter a marine told me they add stuff so you don't have go to the bath room after eating hundreds I'd have noticed I all ways get constipated

[@isaachousley325]

Trying to pack 2 weeks of food in a single rucksack is simply failed planning on account of the leadership, nothing else

[@NoleMercy]

@@isaachousley325 lol that's the business model of the military 😂😂😂😂

[@isaachousley325]

@@NoleMercy yep, way too familiar with that business model.

[@warrenshafer1281]

When I was a Marine Rifleman, 1977-1981, we were still issued C-Rats, C-Rations. We did the same breaking the contents down to save weight and space. We also supplemented our C-Rats with Beef Jerky, Beef Sticks, and Cheese Sticks, etc.. From the PX prior going out in field. We called it "Pogey Bait". P. S. This is a good site.

[@dave-d-grunt]

In Okinawa 74-77 we’d also add ramen to our packs.

[@christopherblare6414]

2015 junk food from the px was still pogey bait.

[@commosection]

As a soldier from the C-rat/Initial MRE days i found this very interesting and smart. I remember we used to get classes prior to winter on how to deal with the cold while stationed at cold weather units. I feel classes like this video is a great way to teach the troops on how to save space and weight in there rucks. Back in the day we didn't even have classes on how to pack anything.

[@jamesfuria3939]

Yeah, I was in the army during the "transition". As a grunt we had a supply room with thousands of cases of c-rations. I was on a field training exercise when a medical unit set up next to our area and had MRE's. I was kind of pissed that us grunts got them last.

[@Tmarc7665]

C rations were the bomb way back when. Nowadays, mre’s are leaps and bounds above c rations. People who say differently, never had to eat c rations 😁

[@stretchman490]

@@Tmarc7665I STILL REMEMBER THE FRUITCAKE. USAF 81-86, and 3 years overseas. Our Sgt swore they were left over from WW2.

[@Tmarc7665]

@@stretchman490 I remember eating c-rations the first time in basic training at Lackland. I looked at the date on the box, and it said 1949. That’s what I remember

[@incognitocamo1439]

I love the mention of using the heater for a morale booster because a warm meal or a little mini suana to boost your morale can absolutely make all the difference between ringing that bell or not but you'd definitely have to be careful because warming yourself up with steam is like pissing your bed because your house is cold, it'll work at first but then after long enough you'll be worse off than you were before because now you're soaked. Gotta make sure you have some kind of wool blanket or woobie liner.

[@germanstudent06]

I knew about condensing some of your MRE items, but the trash tightly rolled and going into the beverage bag was a damn good idea. A buddy told me to try putting the coffee powder in the peanut butter, if you got it, for a different taste and it wasn't too shabby. Cheers, Gritty!

[@GrittySoldier]

Creamer makes EVERY main meal better also!

[@davidparmly8828]

At the Boy Scout High Adventure bases (Philmont and Northern Tier,) we learned to compact our trash into as small a space as possible using materials the food came in, to pack it until we got to a camp with trash handling capacity. Our boys got competitive about who could compact the trash into the smallest configuration. Amazing how much can be compressed into a small Ritz cracker box!

[@GillD03]

creamer+cocoa beverage powder= icing for pound cake

[@gymtard]

You know you are a grunt when a video about field stripping and MRE excites you

[@GrittySoldier]

😂 glad to know we are on the same page

[@kirknunya4291]

If you’re a grunt, this video is junk

[@gamingbros3455]

I was at CST this summer and id use the mre heaters to warm me up during the night or whenever we were in the super cold tents. Using it helped alot.

[@GrittySoldier]

Heater can come in clutch sometimes man

[@jonbroadsword7572]

I would've kept the raisins to mix with the pretzels as an MRE version of salty/sweet Trail Mix (or GORP) since they didn't include the bag of peanuts. You could pour them both in the drink mix pouch.

[@markcollins2666]

The thing about raisins is that they contain the same amount of sugar as a full sized grape. So if you can picture that measly bag of raisins, that would be a nice little pile of grapes! If it were me, I'd keep them, their weight and bulk is minimal.

[@davidparmly8828]

@@markcollins2666 100% agree. carb:weight ratio is very high!

[@Mortlupo]

@@markcollins2666 Stick them in a front pouch.

[@Sketch_Sesh]

He kept the skittles over the raisins 😂

[@Tito_Viera]

Please take this as a compliment. Your room reminds me the one my grandpa had. He was in the Chilean Army, as well almost all my family. But that room, with the medals, the sword, and many pictures... Thanks for the memories. Greetings from Chile!!

[@masterslayr641]

Great video! In my SFAS class we carried 6 MREs at all time in our rucks however we were not allowed to field strip or poke holes in our MREs so it bulky and heavy! The cadre would check too!

[@robertw4230]

Yes , Intact MREs definitely give flotation to the ruck for water crossings if needed .

[@MrSwccguy]

Poke a pin size hole and let the air out, you really can't tell

[@OldNavajoTricks]

@@robertw4230 echelon logic at its finest :-D Do NOT break your vacsealed packs as you may rely on them to float :-D

[@Theire1]

@@OldNavajoTricks In case of a water landing you may be used as a floatation device .

[@ericfranco6336]

Back in 2009, I literally had 2 cases of MREs stripped down in my large ruck when I was in West Africa for 2 weeks. The post-military benefit is I can pack for a 2-week vacation with a small carry-on-sized bag with room to spare! And some people don't think there's any life benefit for military service! :D

[@douglasvamateurradioandmore]

My wife is a military kid. She learned how to pack with all the moving while her dad was in the army.

[@OverTheShenanigans]

I'd definitely keep the beverage powder, especially if it's an electolite one. For me, having something to drink with flavor helps out a ton. Start an ammo can or something for the contents that are "trash", others might actually like that stuff or need a pack of matches.

[@gadget19k76]

Was going to mention that as well, you want to look at what else the different items may provide aside from just calories because a lot of the items are fortified with vitamins, minerals, and in the case of beverage powders electrolytes.

[@eddiereyna2998]

I was an Artillerymen and my first duty station was in Germany. Our Lt was a Ranger tab and he taught us a lot of what and how to pack our gear . Your right about electrical tape as we also used it for our commo wire but more importantly on our LBE . My next unit we had another Lt and not only did he have his RANGER tab but he had served in a RANGER battalion, so he was real high speed , low drag . We placed our main meals inside of our coat pockets to keep em warm . We also used the MRE wrapper to put our socks inside of em with foot powder , as the plastic wrapper was very durable and we also carried 2 pairs of em on our body & 2 on our LBE . We didn’t have the heaters but eventually we got em . We didn’t use em since we had YUKON stoves or we’d bring our lil Coleman burner stoves . If all else fails , heat em on the engine or the exhaust. The bread was delicious and we didn’t have what y’all have now . The cakes and brownies were the best , especially the Maple nut cake . Cocoa , café , sugar and creamer for a great slurping drink while we would be driving for 12 hours into the early 0030 . Even made it while driving @ night . Well , ya make some solid points , especially for active duty Soldiers that don’t see much field duty . I always carried 3 liters of water and about 4 mres if we were doing alot of hip shoots . We had a Spc Blackshire who was our mixologist in Shield & Storm . He made so mighty fine flavors from the mre drinks .

[@ross.58008]

Dude, I'm over 40, Scottish and have never served, but if I was a 25 year old young male American, I would follow your videos and complete Ranger school. If people fail, they should have watched your stuff and be fitter. Massive respect to you mate. It's tough, being a tough bastard🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿💪

[@GrittySoldier]

👊

[@junkymunky2741]

MREs are heavy. Field stripping them is definitely a good idea when you’re bringing them with you dismounted. Thanks for the video!

[@stevenhall2408]

I have ate c rats, LURPS, MREs in my life path (first entered service in 1973) and did historical reenacting eating hard tack, salt pork and ww2 rats but one of my best experiences was during Hurricane Katrina with the MRE " cheeseburger " that some troops from 82 ABN ( my old assigment) DivArty battery showed me. This is a fascinating subject, there is no end to culinary variations and efficient sustaining load for an innovative soldier.

[@patrickperkinson3265]

The first MRE had 2 meal options the dehydrated pork or beef patty A(we called them trackpad replacements) Dehydrated fruit. Peanut butter or cheese, salt packet, sugar packet, coffee powder, 5 sheet to, and spoon. No heat packets or tabs. You absolutely could not rehydrate the pork patty or chew it. You could only rehydrate the beef patty if you had a way to boil water. The fruit you could eat either solid or rehydrate in water (recommend eat solid as rehydrated it would be a tad slimy. Every now and then a cocoa powder pack would show up randomly. No field stripping necessary as until the next iteration came out with spaghetti, beef Mac, chili and the ill gotten egg n cheese, same accessories you lightened your carry by throwing the pork patty or egg packet. We added to the contents with a bottle of Tabasco so much that company made a (unauthorized) bottle holder that attached to our web belt. So next batches of MRE (meals rejected by Ethiopians) started containing small bottles of Tabasco and a few more entrees. The pork and beef patty disappeared and were replaced with pork bbq and beef goulash/stew, both not too bad but guaranteed heartburn

[@Mortlupo]

Yep, dreaded getting the pork or Beef, it meant you weren't eating much that meal. Worst day ever was when two of your three MRE was dehydrated.

[@jamessnyder1175]

Those were the day when it was cold in Germany out on Graf or Holensfeld with dehydrated pork or beef patties. I used to heat up water any way I could do you can break them down to eat. Terrible

[@kirkstinson7316]

Used to rehydrate the beef patty and put it on the crackers with cheese spread and ketchup powder. Didn't taste TO horrible. I remember using the tobacco on everything!

[@cottonhill6816]

@kirk stinson I did something similar. I would mash up the patty and mix in the ketchup powder then rehydrate the whole mess. It came out like a spread you could put on the crackers.

[@co1950]

There was no good way to eat the pork patty. Add what ever you had to it. I think it was more of a texture thing than taste

[@MichaelRobinson-fm6yi]

As an ex aussie digger I remember being on an exercise - Diamond Dollar 87 I think - in north Qld when we were operating with US troops. We were comparing their single meal MRE's with our 24 hour ration packs - they were about the same size!

[@isaacwestling1141]

It's more of a "just in case" or "last resort" option, but I still recommend grabbing the TP "napkins" that come with the MREs, at least a few. It takes a little more space, sure, but it saves your six when you get into a latrine or porta-john that's out of TP (or if you're really out in the sticks and you need to make a "cat hole" to do your business in). I get it, it's gross, but it saves you from starting to chaff and keeps some level of sanitation. If you aren't already using your ankle pocket for anything, you can keep about two in there. Don't be a dirty birdy, don't be "that guy".

[@dpsamu2000]

The raisins go swell with the cookie, and peanut butter. The main bag is a great canteen water heater. It won't melt in a fire with water in it, and the MRE heater used to heat water gives an additional 1000 calories in hot water to drink. That will be a lot of help in the cold. You'll need less food. Keep a lot of MRE bags full of water in the fire put some hot water bags in your pockets, and even in the arctic you'll have your toes tapping while the enemy is freezing. Keep the toilet paper, and the matches. Keep a couple of packs of skittles or other candy. You'll never eat all those candies. If at all possible give the candy to kids you meet. Keep the drink mix for the salts, and electrolytes. One a day. Keep one meal carton for heating meals, and use the residual heat for water. Take all the heaters out of their bags, and use one bag to cook. Keep the rest of the heaters in a zip lock drink bag with the toilet paper to absorb any moisture that gets in the bag.

[@gadget19k76]

One thing to mention, you want to look at what else the different items may provide aside from just calories. A lot of the items are fortified with vitamins, minerals, and in the case of beverage powders electrolytes. Calories are of course really important, but some of the other things can help depending on scenario or length of field time.

[@stevetyler3016]

They introduced MREs when I was in basic. I remember the Drill Sergeants eating em n saying they wouldn’t feed that shit to their dogs. Severe dehydration after eating them n doing grass drills. But they did improve. We were the crash test dummies for the MREs.

[@215618680]

Great to see content not from a poser, but a true warrior. Respect from the Philippines!

[@cje5997]

I want to get into the USNA and join this Corps. This was my first video i have seen from you and i shall definitely watch more in the future. thank you for sharing you knowledge with us younger kids.

[@winisqm]

I’m not a tattoo person normally, but I like your tattoo on your right forearm. Very pleasant design. Thanks for helping the future soldiers from your food experience. Bless you all who protect us back home.

[@m.shaneparks2835]

Dam, those MRE’s are gourmet now! They sucked pork but back in the 80’s. We used to break our MRE’s down back then in the Corps. Especially when your doing timed 25 mile humps (rucks for you army guys) through the hills, mountains, river beds and sandy dirt trails of Camp Pendleton. This is good instructions for the new up-comers! With the internet it’s so much easier for someone to learn what they need to do and train beforehand. This didn’t happen in my time, but it would have been nice to have it. Good job young Lad! Cheers

[@michaeljorgensen790]

I remember Robin's Sage volunteering to help train Special Forces at Bragg. Each of us was issued a case 24 count of MRE's. Then someone took a dump in the creek and we had to hike for miles to another location. We all field stripped our case. But we still all ended up with 0verweighted rucksacks because we were told we would not be moving and most people brought a 90 lb rucksack even before adding the MRE's.

[@MichaelCurrie71]

Excellent video! Not only informational, but nostalgic. I was a 96R back in the day where I would get air inserted for a 96h mission. I needed to field strip several of these and collect the big calorie items and morale stuff to sustain me. Next vid should talk about fitting a 5gal water can in a large Alice pack, lol.

[@adambentley5635]

Love that you don't use the heater, everyone thinks I'm nuts but I haven't used one since my dad brought MREs home when I was a kid. I have used zero heaters ever, including initial entry training. I'm definitely bringing the moist towlette for the same reason you kept the gum, feels good to feel fresh. I'm probably also ditching more sides/desserts than you did, like the cookies and the cobbler. They seem too big for how much value they add nutritionally. I also always ditch drink powders, especially the big protein powder packages. Not gonna dry scoop drink powder, and it can't really go in a camelbak or even canteen.

[@NathanWainwrightdotca]

As a civilian, this was pretty cool to watch/learn about. Thanks for making the video. Great presentation, and information given. 🎉

[@toryalexander5704]

I would use my waist pack and place my snacks in there (wrapped in electric tape) And have my main meals in another pouch main the bottom of ruck, sustainment pouch. Would allow me to quickly access exactly what I needed. I do like your method aswell, thanks for sharing.

[@metalhead9315]

Good dope. We used to strip'em down to "rolling chow" so we could eat as we humped in SOI. My little cousin is heading out to MCRD in a few weeks so I sent him a link to this video. Also, I loved the beverage bag for the trash since it reduces your footprint in your AO. We kept those for waterproofing anything we recovered (i.e. notes, maps, cards, etc.) Great video.

[@ksoltar]

you have to keep the spoon it's a combat spoon, it is a multi tool. they are damn near unbreakable. you can poke hadji in the eye with it, pry hings apart with it, use it when cleaning your weapon, dig a bullet out of a wound with it, dig a field expedient ranger grave with it...or if you're really desperate you can eat an nasty MRE with it.

[@brianpulscher6514]

Good stuff! Ours didn't even have the heaters, but we ALWAYS broke them down. I still buy em occasionally to take hunting and broke them down of course! We didn't use the bag but strapped them all together with electrical tape.

[@vircervoteksisto5038]

This is like a video version of Ranger's Digest. Thanks Ranger Rick!

[@gadget19k76]

One thing I did during my time in Iraq was after breaking down my MREs was separate small easy to eat on the move items like the peanut butter or the some of the other snacks and kept them in a small pouch or pocket so I didn’t need to drop and fish into my ruck to get to them. Pull it out of the pocket, consume, roll up tight, put back and when we stopped add it to the trash bag. For the stuffed pretzels (combos) I’d use a spare beverage bag to shrink them down more, and since the bag was resealable could ration out the snack as I wished.

[@whiskeythree1622]

Love the video -- terrific info, especially the electrical tape! Compact, effective, easy to use and actually re-usable ( duct tape, not so much & leaves residual ) If you can handle being That Guy in a group, have the huevos to stage an empty MRE box for discards -- without fail one's trash is another's treasure. The heater as a warmer can work ( their end result varies, newer ones work better ) ... but the off-gas is at least bad as propane in smell. I admit an affinity for the spoon -- best damn implement since the Garand. And the beverage bag works great for protecting small electronics ( yes, the cell phone ) and keeping copies of the latest Rules Of Engagement / damn Reservist orders dry and easily accessible for the duration of an exercise.

[@douglasspende929]

I didn't eat that crap back while I was in the Marine Corps back in 1987-1991. We had no heaters back then. Mres came out in 1982. They still had C Rats that were 1975 - 1982! I use to eat Vietnamese food out in the field. I had a nice steal 3 round Thai food container that my wife gave me. She is Vietnamese/America. She was NAVY! Cool video RANGER!!!! I had a Mess kit with knife fork and spoon!! Aren't mess kids issued any more?!!!

[@EricaLauren-m7e]

I totally understand field stripping MRE's to the bear minimum, for weight purposes!!! However, some of the "little things" included in a Standard MRE.... have multiple uses that many people are not aware of!! For example, the freeze dried coffee is also a vasoconstrictor. It can be used to control bleeding when it is applied, in the dry form to a wound. (obviously not a major bleed!). The caffeine in the freeze dried coffee can also help with a headache. Consume the whole packet with a chug of water. Caffeine obviously helps with fatigue. (also, stay hydrated with electrolytes) MY FAVORITE ..."overlooked" thing in the MRE, is the packet of coffee creamer!!! The creamer is made of dry oils and is essentially flammable!!! Toilet paper and matches burn out way too fast to start a good fire. The "magic combination" for very hot and well sustained "starter fire", is to add sprinkles of coffee creamer and sugar as it begins to burn. Then add small strips of the plastic from the big MRE bag. After the initial toilet paper and matches burn off, you have a long sustained fire, fueled by dry oils, caramelized sugar and a plasticizer... YIKES!! ...That is a very hot fire!! :o) My point to all of this is, do not overlook the small things. Go over EVERYTHING in that MRE pack. Figure out at least 2 things that each item could be used for! ..Things that might seem useless... or just "extra weight"... could end up saving your life. Please read my other comment below. That is really important stuff!!

[@BigHarryBalzac]

When I was in the army we had MCIs at first, which everyone called C-rations but they actually weren't. That was before the change to MREs, and we still got them after MREs were adopted. Then, when we did get MREs, they didn't have MRE heaters in them. The flameless ration heater wasn't invented until 1990, after people ate cold MREs for 9 years. If you wanted to heat them up, in winter you could put them in your coat next to your body, instead of your pocket. The rest of the year you could eat them at room temperature.

[@66block84]

I went canoeing in the BWCA fishing opener. My friend who organized these canoe trips was Ex Army and at the time National Guard. We brought MRE's for first meal on our last day so we would have little clean up & tossed everthing into one garbage bag. The things I insisted on were Tang so the lake water didn't taste so bad and some bags of trail mix for the far side of the lake so we could keep fishing without having to canoe for an hour back to camp, just to eat lunch. The others all complained, but admitted it was a good idea when they were hungry.

[@dethofgod666]

I always keep the TP in the beverage bag in an ankle pocket. It has saved my life before I swear by it.

[@mhero6865]

Veteran of the 80s 90s Army. This video would have made my Ranger School experience sooo much more efficient.

[@Mortlupo]

It would have made my day in a regular unit too as I had thirty extra pounds of radio gear in my ruck...did not leave much room for meals. Now at 55 and in the Civil Air Patrol as a Ground Team Leader, I'm using this for my two meals I need to carry on my load bearing rig, our 24-hr loadout has too much stuff and I need to make room!

[@mhero6865]

@@Mortlupo Nothing worse than being the 203 Gunner in the 80s That vest sucked

[@grinch45]

18E commo dude and the Captain is a real ass about failure so we got way too much stuff and there no room for MREs. MREs had to be field stripped down and we not even about to have more than one. However the medic got sick and had to leave the field, the captain and me get his food and we sit there dividing it like two people who trust each other. Cold weather exercise in Korea doing an SR mission 1993. Today I would say practice some fasting 24-72 hours and some daily intermittent fasting of 18-23 hours and know how hunger really works and fear of no food or little food will go away.

[@jameslewis4255]

Marine S2 Scout here, 1st Bn 1st Marines 69/70 RVN. On extended patrols we took the coffee and the one large can from our C Rations, one can per day. I came home on the USS New Orleans in 1970 at 115 lbs. I actually had abs. 😁

[@Sam-km9nm]

Ur videos have been pretty helpful for me as a prepper or passing info to my buddies who are wanting to be more prepared citizens.

[@danielboatright8887]

A meal prep pouch with a few small things in it like hot sauce and gatoraid mix or instant coffee can help a lot, maybe add some beef/chicken bullion cubes and some tea bagsto or even real coffee to ziploc baggies, especially if you're going to have the ability to boil water you can then really boost morale for yourself and the boys, or trade for other things. Also, always have some extra ziplocks, great for keeping itemd dry, and have some wet wipes and ass paper in some too.

[@OtterJohn667]

Good info; all stuff I used to do back in the day. The heaters...yeah, we used to use those as sleeping bag heaters, never for our food. :D Those were a hotly traded commodity (no pun intended). ;) Everything else you point out: so true!

[@biknjak]

I was in the Army from '82 - '87. In the early 80's, they were transitioning several things. C Rations to MRE's, OD fatigues to BDU's, quarter ton jeeps to Humvees, steel pots to Kevlar helmets, and testing new pistols to replace the 1911 (why the Beretta beat out the Glock for field use, I'll never understand). One thing I distinctly remember, was the last generation C Rations were more edible than the first generation MRE's. Fun times....

[@Mortlupo]

MRE weren't meant to be edible, they were to keep you "plugged" until you rotated out of the field to the nearest crapper.

[@biknjak]

@@Mortlupo 😂

[@jimgonzales3366]

We always carried Tabasco sauce. Then they started putting tiny bottles in the bag. Cold weather we carried Raman noodles and a small butane stove. We didn't have hydration systems so we had canteens with canteen cups! We kept the spoons for radio antennas! We still broke down the mre's. And keeping the tp paper was way important!🤙😁

[@HyperionSturm]

Ahhhh, the good ole days of packing 50 liters of Food in a 30 liter pack. I decided not to defy the laws of physics and trained my body to burn proper fuel efficiently. After that, I ate small amounts of complex carbs, a little more protein and a lot of fats from grains, meat, and fruit oils like olive oil or ghee which won’t spoil. I could pack three days of food in one MRE bag and if I had to trade food for ammo, I got more selective and the bag stretched further. Mission focus and knowing yourself and where your trade space is will help win the day. Good luck, I’ll see you in Valhalla.

[@rd1084]

We were taught to break them down like that when I was on active duty in 94. I never used the heater and ditched it.

[@DelahayN]

as soon as you said "Spaghetti with beef sauce" I got really hungry lol. That's ALWAYS been my favorite!!

[@TheJoeyboots]

Wow nice good advice. I normally just took them apart and jammed them all in one of the outside Alice pocket. The other pocket had dry socks and a t shirt and drawers The center one for tactical gear. I did use the beverage bag for trash also. Well done Sir 😁 You are a guiding light for young soldiers.

[@waynestock2006]

Good stuff, man. Another use for the beverage bag is to put all your dry stuff like nuts, M&Ms, and raisins for a trail mix. Throw your coffee powder in it, and you have an energy caffeine punch.

[@daviddickerson4728]

That's a great video. I know some of my SF friends would field strip them and pack three meals into one bag.

[@iamcondescending]

Could also take the snacks out and load those in a pouch/pocket that's easy to get to so you don't have to drop your bag everytime you want a pick me up. Personally: I'd mix up the sports drink in a seperate bottle from my regular water ahead of time. As a morale booster. You need water anyways, and if it has flavour, calories and electrolytes, bonus!

[@DaGrazy]

I leave for the marines in 5 days(bootcamp) so this is helpful thank you sir!

[@GrittySoldier]

👊

[@chrisnygaardnikolajsen6842]

Electrical tape and “ranger bands” (elastics cut out from bicycle tube or any kind of inner tube so you have different sizes). That for me as a soldier was a must have.

[@michaelodonoghue7464]

I once worked alongside an Army Private (Australian Army) who was on Double Rations, (Medical Grounds) and watching him strip his Ration Packs was a Science.

[@johnmills969]

Good video , I totally agree strip em down. The less weight you have to hump the better off you are. Batteries ,ammo and other shit take enough space. When I was in we didn't have heaters and we stole hot sauce from the chow hall lol.

[@NoBrakes23]

We learned this in boot camp and MCT, (The abbreviated POG version of SOI,) but the old dark brown MREs didn't have a hot bev bag, so the trashpack was a new one for me. Solid video.

[@danerickson1733]

Always keep the heaters and hot sauce! Comes in handy during hazing.

[@mikethemechanic7395]

Nice video! On the lighter side. I was a 5 jump chump in an ordnance unit. We would take the inside of the heaters and put them in a 20oz Pepsi plastic bottle with 20 tobaccos. When they would explode. It was like being in a gas chamber. We threw them inside GP medium tents. We would make Ranger cookies with the coffee and chocolate etc. Would wrap them in foil and heat them up till it got hard.

[@josephwarra5043]

MRE -- Meals, Rejected by the Enemy!(today, some of them are actually pretty good).

[@philippejoyal8065]

I've used those heat pads a lot for boddy warmth when I was in the military up in northern Québec !

[@CK-mj1ee]

This video was super helpful. I feel kind of stupid that I have never done this before. I’m a PFC about to get waivered to SPC in 2 weeks bc I true blued EIB in November and just graduated Air Assault this past Friday! Headed to Ranger school later this year and your channel has definitely helped inspire me! Thanks!

[@davidparmly8828]

Drive on, CK! You make us proud!

[@LuckyAJC]

hell yea thats awesome 👌

[@davidparmly8828]

Whatever you do - do not text that number above. It ain't Gritty soldier doing it. Internet scam - fooled me, up until it didn't. No harm; No foul, I guess.

[@philparks2223]

One thing we did in cold weather environments was stuff the UNOPENED main meal in the front of our pants prior to patrol…warm meal definitely helped with morale…

[@omegaalpha2974]

Dude, this is the only video I've ever seen about field stripping MREs! It has ALWAYS made me wonder if these KZbin warriors were legit.

[@Jesse-gx7mn]

Very informational video Gritty soldier, I'll need to keep this info in mind for next time I eat an MRE!

[@corsair6]

Had winter MRE's at base camp on Denali....good lord there's a LOT of calories in those. When in field, always keep the heater & pack; the spoon save two, one for backup, put a hole in the handle and dummy cord it. The gear nerds would purchase sporks from outdoor shops. Pretty crazy how much trash gets generated from one pak. I always flatted my broken-down MRE's, made it much easier to stuff than a taped-roll.

[@alfredwhited2276]

For space saving put a pinhole in bags with air in them after deflating tape holeshot. And for flavoring I would say keep a couple of the condiments.

[@funkndavid]

Field stripped mine during my last FEX. Definitely felt the benefits

[@petesheppard1709]

The original MREs were freeze-dried to eliminate as much weight and bulk as possible. It was quickly driven home that the water to reconstitute the food still had to be carried... I took my swing at the military back in the '70s, so I remember repacking the C-rations (actually, MCIs) into socks. I enjoy eating MREs, and in watching this video, I realized that I divide up what I am going to eat in pretty much the same way as you describe field-stripping. An interesting video; thanks!!

[@davidparmly8828]

Pete, our Ranger class (3 or 4-83) got LRRPs for one meal in Florida. In a green clothy outer pack and everything freeze dried. They were terrible. Required hot water to work.

[@petesheppard1709]

@@davidparmly8828 Back in the late '70s, I came across some VN-era LRRPs. Surprisingly, only one was bad. IIRC, the others were fairly tasty, even dry.

[@davidparmly8828]

@@petesheppard1709 i was referring to the concept of the LRRP. the amount of time required to heat the water (we weren't allowed fires anyway) meant we just used cold water. IIRC, mine was a chili mac concoction. Trust me: I consumed all of it but it was crunchy and that had to impact my taste perception.

[@petesheppard1709]

@@davidparmly8828 I tried them both dry and wet. OK for what they were--except for the obviously bad one.

[@asmith7876]

@@davidparmly8828 Ugh, LRRPs…middle of the desert in summer, poured in boiling water, waited 20 minutes, STILL barely soft enough to eat! WTF? I was in the Army mid-80s, only two menus had dehydrated stuff, one beef patty, one pork patty, both beyond nasty. And it was not uncommon to get food poisoning still. I have some new ones and WOW, delicious!

[@Jays_video_watcher]

I am not high speed. But I do like my MREs while hiking or camping. So still thanks for the info!

[@GrittySoldier]

👍

[@jastdi2]

First saw MRE’s in Vietnam. They were then called LRRP’s (long-range recon patrol) and very hard to get as only issued to particular units. The best one was made specially for Vietnamese troops using Vietnamese recipes, candy, etc. Much better than the original American recipes which, as with the normally-issued C-ration required lots of Tabasco.

[@jonny_d13]

Guess it's time to go repack my truck bag. Thanks for the info!

[@michaelmappin4425]

Man, am I glad I provided CAS overhead rather than sleep on the ground and eat MREs. Of course, most flight deck meals consisted of sandwiches. You could choose from either ham and cheese or cheese and ham.

[@Cetok01]

Not only good for soldiers in the field, but good advice for preppers with a 'bug-out' bag, too.

[@Mortlupo]

And first responders, CAP has field teams, and this will make carrying our meals a lot easier.

[@waylonk2453]

Great tip and demonstration. Thanks for making this video and sharing it

[@mrblackgabe]

Being in transportation I would field strip a case of mres. Just keep the good stuff.

[@dreb222]

To be honest, hot meals are a massive morale boost. I always kept the warmer with the main meal because it weighs basically nothing, and doesn’t take up space as it’s flat. If you can’t use it, oh well but if you have time, because sometimes hurry up and wait is the fucking MO…having that flamless heater is worth bringing in my opinion.

[@jamessnyder1175]

I was in back in the 80s Germany. We didn’t have heaters. We ate them MREs cold or the dehydrated pork Pattie’s in canteen cup with cold water to try to soften them up. If you had a vehicle running, set the water with canteen cup on top of the motor to warm up the water which took forever. Most of the time , we just ate it cold cause we were so tired and hungry, we didn’t care.

[@RickActual]

Thank you for your service! Freakin’ great vid. Subscribed with the bell turned on.

[@kenneththrasher9241]

Good stuff all around! OZ = pounds, so very true. And I absolutely agree about the heaters.- would !only want 'em to heat me

[@douglascox9996]

The beverage flavor pack can make treated water from a stagnant or stinky source palatable. Nothing seems to improve the taste of Ringers Lactate IV fluid, however. Have tasted Army rations from K, C, & MRE series. K-rations (WW2-Korea) make the most sense weight wise, but require more water taken in for staying hydrated. British rations are a box for all day, with more exotic cuisine items compared to US issue, but involve more cans. Good video.

[@peterwhitcomb8315]

It's been almost 2 decades but I remembered most of it. Although I never brought the drink mix and did bring the seasoning, i.e. Tabasco (people would always trade for it 🤣).

[@qwaszxpolkmncvb]

That's great advice for anyone.

[@Afftamatt]

Great guide, I did pretty much the same thing to ukrainian MREs before taking them with me on a mission, this helps to save weight and space in your ruck. It's one of those things no one teaches you in training.

[@sheldoniusRex]

I would've swapped the pretzels out for the beverage powder. I always carried one canteen even in the age of the camelbak because mixing koolaid in a camelbak is the big dumb, but the canteen is perfect. Even if I didn't have the powder, I'd lose the pretzels because of the bulk. But I wasn't ever high speed low drag. I was a combat enginerd in a tank division.

[@ricksunderland1421]

Former LRS back during Reagan - all kinds of antennas you can make with those spoons ...

[@tinmansolo5855]

Good ideas for a bugout bag as well. Less space and weight to carry.

[@waynedodson7360]

One random thought/potential mishearing about the heater - I would assume that you would want to have the steam outside of any clothing. When the heater gets beat all that condensation would make you colder because of all the moisture. Just a thought and I could be wrong, but great video, similar to what we did. Cheers!

[@AreUmygrandson]

“I don’t even like spicy stuff.” Dude what? Hot sauce is life

[@EricaLauren-m7e]

Hey!! :o) ...I always keep the pack of sugar and matches for small wound care. Sugar is hypotonic. It will help prevent or draw out "infected fluids" from a wound. The match tips are combination of Sulphur and Phosphorous, which are very useful treat an infection. Have a dry bandage and tape ready before preparing the compound. To start, combine the sugar at ratio of 3/1 with ground up match tip powder. This is a "dry bandage" technique. Once the wound stops "oozing" fluid, use a 1/1 ratio of sugar and ground up match tips, until the wound is scabbed over. This is for small wounds. Some small wounds.. like on fingers or toes.. can really effect performance!!. I hope this helps someone!! If you really pick apart the complete contents of am MRE... there are SO MANY uses!! .. beyond calories!

[@johnrossman6679]

Back in the 90s when I was in at Fort Lewis, we usually got an MRE when we are already in the field and it was rare (in my memory) to get one before we move out. Never thought of to break it down. Would it be best to keep that initial clear plastic bag on hand for sucking chest wounds if needed? I realize in training it is a waste product that won't be used. Just a thought. But I loved using the hot water heaters. A warm meal out in the cold forests of Washington helped.

[@OtherThanIntendedPurpose]

I was in for 10 years, electrical tape was a must every time I left the garrison. even if you get a small cut, we called it man-daids. better than the band-aids in the first aid kit

[@gregnulik1975]

One thing most mre's probably need is a better tasting Tour De France bicycling nutrition gel. Could also make some or most of the packaging with a flammable liner, so you can cook more and get rid of waste easier.

[@GoodStuffReview]

I never ditch raisins and beverage base. Dump beverage base on raisins (or cranberries as you sometimes get.) It's basically candy. It gives you fast calories and blood sugar boost.