Initially, C rations were intended to be used as short term rations and the Quartermaster general recommended that troops be only served it for a maximum of five days in absence of other rations. However, the ration was used as a "sustenance ration" and became the main ration of the United States armed forces. It's shortcomings were soon brought to the forefront; Raymond Cochran, a 9th Infantry Division ammunition bearer stated “Of the seven-hundred and thirty days I spent in europe, I can guarantee that at least six hundred of them I ate nothing but C-Rations. I deployed weighing one hundred and forty-eight pounds, I returned home weighing ninety”. Because the C ration or “C rat” was originally designed off the design of a survival ration,
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The ration was separated into three different meals; Breakfast, Dinner and Supper. Each meal was individually packaged in a waxed cardboard container, containing two cans, the main meal and an accessory pack containing a handful of calorie-dense biscuits, coffee, sugar, salt and pepper, cigarettes and a small book of matches (olive-drab.com) Procurement of the “K” ration began in 1941, after the US War Department asked a University of Minnesota Psychologist Dr. Keys to create a lightweight ration that would be suitable for rapid deployment and fulfilled the minimum nutritional requirements. During the development of the ration, the letter “K” was chosen for the name of the ration not because of Dr. Keys, but because it was the most different sounding letter in the phonetic alphabet from existing rations. Dr. Keys went to the nearest supermarket and grabbed what he thought would work best for a ration; Dried beef, compressed cereal bars, dextrose tablets, water purification tablets and a small four-pack of …show more content…
The US Quartermaster, along with the newly created U.S. Army Medical Research and Nutrition Laboratory (Kuemmerlin) began the development of the “Meal, Combat, Individual” (MCI). Although attempts were made to improve the palatability were tried, the troops still referred to them as “C-Rations” both due to the similar packaging, content, lack of nutritional content and taste (Meyer).
The creation of the Army Medical Research and Nutrition Laboratory also marked a major change in ration development, as the main focus of the Army Medical Research and Nutrition Laboratory was to improve ration quality and palatability, mainly so that the they could be used longer without monotony and malnutrition. However, no major change was observed in the developmental style of the US rations until the development of the “Long-Range-Patrol” ration in late 1960.
The ration was separated into three different meals; Breakfast, Dinner and Supper. Each meal was individually packaged in a waxed cardboard container, containing two cans, the main meal and an accessory pack containing a handful of calorie-dense biscuits, coffee, sugar, salt and pepper, cigarettes and a small book of matches (olive-drab.com) Procurement of the “K” ration began in 1941, after the US War Department asked a University of Minnesota Psychologist Dr. Keys to create a lightweight ration that would be suitable for rapid deployment and fulfilled the minimum nutritional requirements. During the development of the ration, the letter “K” was chosen for the name of the ration not because of Dr. Keys, but because it was the most different sounding letter in the phonetic alphabet from existing rations. Dr. Keys went to the nearest supermarket and grabbed what he thought would work best for a ration; Dried beef, compressed cereal bars, dextrose tablets, water purification tablets and a small four-pack of …show more content…
The US Quartermaster, along with the newly created U.S. Army Medical Research and Nutrition Laboratory (Kuemmerlin) began the development of the “Meal, Combat, Individual” (MCI). Although attempts were made to improve the palatability were tried, the troops still referred to them as “C-Rations” both due to the similar packaging, content, lack of nutritional content and taste (Meyer).
The creation of the Army Medical Research and Nutrition Laboratory also marked a major change in ration development, as the main focus of the Army Medical Research and Nutrition Laboratory was to improve ration quality and palatability, mainly so that the they could be used longer without monotony and malnutrition. However, no major change was observed in the developmental style of the US rations until the development of the “Long-Range-Patrol” ration in late 1960.