Meal, Combat, Individual ration facts for kids
The Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) was the name of canned wet combat rations issued by the United States Armed Forces from 1958 to 1980, when it was replaced by the Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE).
Contents
Menus
Meat unit
The "M" unit came in 12 basic varieties grouped in three menus of four different entrees (later supplemented by "alternative" variant entrees). Taking into account slight differences in preparation or meat, a total of 18 entrees were available over time:
- M-1: Beefsteak, Chicken or Turkey Loaf, Chopped Ham & Eggs, or Ham Slices (Cooked in Juices or Fried). M-1A: Tuna fish.
- M-2: Meat Chunks w/ Beans in Tomato Sauce, Ham & Lima Beans, Beef Slices w/ Potatoes in Gravy (Beef and Boulders), or Beans w/. Frankfurter Chunks in Tomato Sauce. M-2A: Spaghetti w/ Meatballs in Tomato Sauce.
- M-3: Beef in Spiced Sauce, Boned Chicken or Turkey, Chicken w/ Noodles in Broth, or Pork Steak Cooked in Juices. M-3A: Meat Loaf.
Bread unit
The "B" unit came in three different varieties:
- B-1: Seven crackers and two chocolate discs (Types: Solid Chocolate "also known as Lifer Bars", Chocolate Creme, or Chocolate Coconut).
- Peanut Butter Spread.
- B-2: Four Hardtack Biscuits (often referred to by troops as "John Wayne cookies") and a cookie sandwich or fudge disc.
- Cheese Spread (Types: Processed Cheese w/ Pimentos or Processed Cheese w/ Caraway Seeds). Spread Alternative: Plain Cheddar Cheese.
- B-3: Four Cookies and a packet of Cocoa powder.
- Jam Spread (Types: Apple, Mixed Berry, Seedless Blackberry, Mixed Fruit, Grape, or Strawberry). It was used with the bread in the D-3 can.
Dessert unit
The "D" unit came in three different types:
- D-1 (Fruit): Halved apricots, sliced peaches, quartered pears, or fruit cocktail. D-1A (Fruit): Applesauce.
- D-2 (Cake): Pound Cake, Fruitcake, or Cinnamon Nut Roll. D-2A (Cake): Date Pudding or Orange Nut Roll.
- D-3 (Bread): White bread. (There were no alternatives).
Each menu was grouped by their unit number (i.e., M-1, B-1 and D-1 items were grouped together). Alternative items (designated with an "A" suffix) were introduced to provide variety and reduce the monotony. For variety, the M-1 and M-3 units (since they both used small cans) were often switched.
The "B"-unit's Crackers & Candy tin was lined with a piece of corrugated cardboard to protect the contents from damage. In the "D"-unit, the white bread came in one solid cylindrical piece wrapped in wax paper, while the pound cake, fruitcake, Orange Nut Roll, and Cinnamon Roll came wrapped in paper wrappers like cupcakes.
The Accessory Pack came with salt, sugar, instant coffee, non-dairy creamer, two pieces of candy-coated chewing gum, a packet of toilet paper, a four-pack of commercial-grade cigarettes, and a book of 20 cardboard moisture-proof matches.
Typical commercial brands issued in the cigarette ration were: Camel, Chesterfield, Kent, Kool, Lucky Strike, Marlboro, Pall Mall, Salem, or Winston. Due to health concerns, cigarettes were eliminated from the accessory packs in 1972.
Repackaging
In 1967 there were changes in packaging to help standardize the ration. The B cans were now all small sized.
Postwar additions
The B-1 unit added Chocolate-Toffee, Chocolate-Vanilla, and Chocolate with Peanuts discs. The B-2 unit jam spreads were expanded with the addition of Blackberry Jam, Peach Jam, and Pineapple Jam. The B-3 unit added a Vanilla Fudge disc and Hickory-Smoked Processed Cheese Spread. The D-2 units added a Cherry Nut Roll and a Chocolate Nut Roll.
Field reports
Although the MCI had been designed as improvement over the earlier Type C or C ration of World War II and Korea, with the inclusion of additional menu items, it was still designed for infrequent use, to be regularly supplemented with fresh Type A (Garrison) and canned Type B (Field Kitchen) rations. This goal was rarely achieved in the field, and some Army and Marine forces in Vietnam would operate for two weeks or more while consuming only the MCI ration or other processed, canned foods.
The new ration had some curious superstitions attached to it during the Vietnam War. The "Ham & Lima Beans" entree, disliked since Korea, was detested by U.S. soldiers and Marines, who considered even pronouncing the correct name brought bad luck. US Marines, paratroops, infantrymen, and armored vehicle crewmen, particularly AMTRAC (Amphibious Tractor) personnel, believed that halved apricots were bad luck to eat during combat operations. The peanut butter issued in the B-1 unit was unappetizing to some and was often discarded, but was consumed by those with diarrhea, as it was certain to stop a case of "the runs". Soldiers in Special Operations units hoarded B-1 peanut butter in empty ration cans to make improvised smoke candles while on long patrols. Being extremely oily, the peanut butter burned with ease, and could be used to boil water for coffee, although it left a greasy black stain on the bottom of the canteen cup.
Other menu items were more popular, such as the pound cake, canned pears, and the spaghetti & meatballs. In 1973, Army Colonel Henry Moak was issued a MCI ration during his stay in Vietnam. Included in the MCI ration was a can of pound cake, manufactured in 1969. He kept the unopened can and vowed to eat the pound cake when he retired from the Army. On July 24, 2009, with news media and dignitaries in attendance, Moak opened the forty-year-old can and ate the contents. He noted that the pound cake still looked and smelled like fresh pound cake.
Throughout the Marine Corps 'Beef Slices w/ Potatoes' were known as "Beef and Rocks" due to their half-cooked texture caused by the chemically maintained integrity of the potato slices to prevent disintegration during storage and "Beans with Frankfurter Chunks in Tomato Sauce" were more commonly referred to as "Beans and Baby Dicks". While Marines in general praised pound cake, particularly with fruit cocktail, most detested fruitcake and generally handed it off to less discriminating unit members. Within the Army during the Vietnam War, 'Beef Slices w/ Potatoes' were often referred to as "Beef and Shrapnel".
"C-Rat" Boonie Stove
The small "B"-unit can was often made into an improvised field stove that could be carried in the cargo pockets of a set of combat fatigues. This was done by making a series of diagonal cuts around the top and bottom edges of the can with a P-38 can opener or a standard can opener to allow the trioxane fuel tablet to burn evenly and warm the entrée. Small balls of C-4 plastic explosive were often substituted for the fuel tablet, as it produced a hotter flame. The ball was smaller than an inch in diameter with a small tit pinch on it to light it by. Heating of canned meat items was often accomplished by inserting the can into the exhaust of a running truck where it would jam into the curved exhaust pipe end, warming it to a palatable temperature and de-congealing the grease. A second variation that was used by those with ready access to diesel fuel was to take a "church key" (also a needed item to open beer or soda cans) and make the same series of holes around the top sides of the can. Then, cardboard from the packaging box would be rolled them up and placed into the can so that it just came to the top of the can. The can is dipped into the fuel tank of a source of diesel fuel, then lighted. The cardboard acted as a wick for the fuel and the can can be used to heat the rations as well as make tea or coffee. One "stove" was good for at least three or more men to heat their meal and make their coffee with one fueling.
End of the MCI ration
Though it had been given a new name, the MCI was in essence still the canned C ration of prior years. Selecting the MCI ration for all field issue resulted in limiting troops in the field to a single class of heavy wet packaged ration that despite meal variances, was simply not suitable for extended consumption. As they had in World War II and Korea, soldiers and Marines regularly complained of the monotony of a single class of field ration, especially where field mess A and B rations were not available for extended periods of time. Despite the inclusion of additional menu items, the MCI was still designed only for "infrequent use" (unlike later individual rations, which would be required to pass a new field test of seven consecutive days of consumption as the sole diet without complaints of monotony).
The overuse of the canned ration culminated during the Vietnam War, where American troops frequently resorted to the extreme of placing stacked ration cans inside empty G.I. socks to save bulk and reduce noise on patrol, while enemy forces improved mobility by carrying lightweight rations of dry rice in scarves. Primarily implemented due to cost concerns, the decision to standardize on a single canned wet individual ration resulted in a severe weight penalty for troops marching on foot through the jungles of Vietnam while carrying a multi-day supply of MCI cans, adversely affecting combat readiness and increasing soldier fatigue (a typical complete individual ration of cans for one day weighed five and a half pounds). Many combat soldiers and Marines, already overburdened, carried the minimum amount to save weight on operations until the next resupply drop; when the drop was delayed, they went hungry.
The failure of the Quartermaster Corps and its Subsistence Branch to develop a suitable lightweight general-purpose ration after World War II, combined with the absence of a dehydrated, very lightweight dry ration for jungle environments led directly to the hurried development of the Long Range Patrol, or LRP ration in 1966.
