Army Chow Anyone?

While in the bush in 68-69, General Ray Davis allowed one C-rat per day. Everyone carried two Army Long Rats but they could not be eaten unless you were given permission after being out of C-Rats for two days under penalty of an article 15. Needless to say, the Long Rats were eaten first which necessitated a run to an Army depot when we returned to Vandergrift Combat Base with a captured SKS to trade for the missing Long Rats.
 
Not army but air force: Damn, but I loved the SOS at the inflight kitchen in the middle of the night.

When around our parents, my Navy-vet brother referred to SOS as "superb on a shingle". Mother had no idea what he meant, and Dad, the old war correspondent, just grinned. :)
 
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I came across some old C-rats I'd saved but the cans had rusted and I pitched them. I hated our deployments when we had to pay for our C-rats if we lived off base and hope like heck you had some money when called out.
I kept a Swiss back packing all fuel stove in my gear for heating them up using JP-4. It worked better than those fuel tabs and there was always a line waiting to use it when I was done heating mine.
I've eaten in AF and Army chow halls and the AF always had better food especially midnight chow. It was always appreciated during a night shift if we could get away to get it. I still make SOS on occasion and even my wife seems to enjoy it too.
 
You have no culture at your house. Lutefisk is the finest dining made when served with Lefse. December 6 at the Vikings Club in Nashville, TN is the next Lutefisk feed -- um um good!!

Im part Norwegian and part Cherokee. I smelled it cooking once--and I couldnt fathom eating something that smelled like burning tires. Give me Pemmican any day.

Also, those Russian rations are some of the nastiest ive ever seen--also resembles one of my brothers attempts at cooking.

Heck, I grew up on cultured food--mostly Southern-American fare: Fried Chicken, Fried Potatoes, Chicken Fried Steak, yadda Italian==Pizza, Mexican==Burritos, Enchiladad, Carne, Taquitos etc :D
 
Wow O WOW after reading this thread I’m so glad I went into the Navy.:D

To be honest I heard so much about SOS that the first time I got it I was a bit apprehensive about it. Found out I actually enjoyed it. At 5’11’ solid 220lbs they were happy to give you as much as you wanted!:)
 
It was either Army chow or no chow, your choice.:(

I always enjoyed Army soup, had everything in it that didn't get eaten the day before.:)
 
IN 1968 I was in Viet Nam, my unit was detached from the main unit. We ate a lot of C-rations. Ate all of them, like most units the eggs and ham, ham and lima beans got tossed in another box. When things got tight and chow was scares they got eaten. The best way I found to heat a meal was water in your helmet and heated with a chunk of c-4. The pecan coffee cake was pretty good heated. We took 4-5 pack of the instant coffee and boil up a gallon of water, it was drinkable. We got a couple of Viet Namees rations dehydrated rice, shrimp and veggies. Hot bad, but go real easy on the red pepper flakes cause you are going to feel them again.

State side I work a strange night shift, my guys and I would get meals from the in flight kitchen. lots of good fried chicken and bag lunches. Sure could go for some SOS with two over easy eggs and some hot sauce, cold milk and black chow hall coffee. That a meal to get you through a long night of pushing pallets and unloading aircraft.

Spam... No Spam ever again ate to much to often; there is no way to prepare spam that I have not eaten it. I can't stand the smell.

Care package form home while in Viet Nam included Vienna sausages, smoke sardines, tuna fish, hot sauce, those little glass jars of cheese. gouda cheese, crackers and a small canned ham. gum and Kool Aid. pop corn was used as packing but that got eaten first.
 
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I found Army chow varied widely. Some mess halls, the people running them really deserved a pat on the back, others-the people running them should have been flogged. C-rats, like fast food, not gourmet dining but the quality and portion control is there. Biggest problem in Vietnam was commanders who wouldn't accept that an army marches on it stomach to quote a far better general than any we've had in the last fifty years and thought starving the troops "toughened" them up. I actually liked Ham and Lima Beans, I laughed at the knuckleheads who would trade them to me for smokes then whined that they were hungry.
 
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