Most teams will allow other food to be consumed that is of known quality and source, such as that which NDMS has contracted for or that the Red Cross would bring in.

What ever the team decision on this matter, there has been a good deal of thought and experience behind them.

Meals Ready to Eat or the MRE, is the standard field issue for the U.S.A. military forces (NSN 8970-00-149-1094) and costing around $73 a case from DPSC. Ideally the MRE is a balanced meal containing all that is needed to eat the meal, except a cup for the juice mixes that are supplied. If the entire meal is eaten, it is designed to give a minimum of 900 calories. This is a lot of concentrated calories that were designed for the military on the move, not a stationary DMAT group. Watch how much you eat. Three MREs a day for 10 days, wow!

The meal and its accessories are contained in a plastic pouch. Each sub item is also packaged in a plastic pouch. Main menu items are additionally contained in a cardboard box. Spoon, salt, pepper, wipes, napkin, and matches. There are many manufacturers of MREs, so there is a large variety available if one looks around. Each meal is stable for a minimum of 3 years on the shelf if kept under 80 degrees Farenhite but only 6 months at 100 degrees.  Just don't freeze them, as any cheese sauce will turn to an interesting lumpy mess and handling frozen packaging may damage the packaging. NDMS has been replacing them when the expiration date is due, approximately two years after purchase. 

No team should deploy without at least three days of MRE supplies even if you bring someone to cook and have planned to cook mass meals. You will find that while in transit you will spend a lot of time on or near the transportation sites waiting for further instructions and/or transportation to arrive, etc. A full day or more transportation phase is not uncommon each way, so have plenty of MREs available in personal packs for these meals.

Some of the advantages of the MRE are; concentrated calories, excellent food quality, quick meals, portability of meal, does not require extra team member as cook, variety contained in each meal, does not require refrigeration, and does not require cooking as it is pre-cooked.

A lot of time and effort has gone into the packaging. However, if you want one of these meals in your day pack, strip it down to what you really want by taking out the cardboard and extras, then place the wanted items in a zip lock bag. You may also wish to compress it with a rubber band.

DMAT teams that have been supplied by NDMS have military MREs shipped to them.

Typical menu from SOPAKCO includes:

For other information on the MRE, try theses links: