The History and Current State of US Military Food (opens in new tab)

The story is different for wartime. From the beginning in the Revolutionary War, the nation grappled with the difficulties of procuring, paying for, and delivering food to its troops in the field. There was no refrigeration, and preservation was hit-or-miss. Alcohol rations helped a little. But behind the scenes, there were those trying to solve the problem, because an army travels on its stomach. They developed C-rations, ration D, and ultimately MREs. All work under the idea that hunger mak...