sidenote: I'm not entirely sure if this is from Iraq or Afghanistan but if it's from Iraq, it's not dissimilar from Afghanistan as far as the greedy kids and what not.

Also, if you HAVE been to either of those countries, you would know they're not denying water, "biscuits", what have you to needy children but greedy children. If you HAVE been there you would know that they want these things for the same reason that a four year old wants the toy you are playing with: because YOU are playing with it.

I never denied the children or adults of Afghanistan water or something to eat or even cigarettes if they needed it. But when you have given a CASE of water so his family could have clean water for the day and he continues to ask for water or if you have given a cigarette to one particular ANP and he tucks it behind his ear, pulls out a pack of his own cigarettes, and smokes HIS OWN cigarette you quickly realize more often than not when they ask for something its not out of need but rather out of selfish want.

They ask for water not because they are thirsty, but because you have more water. They ask for "biscuits" not because they are hungry or poor but because you have more. They ask for "pen" (a popular one) not so they can write (most of the country is illiterate anyway) but because you have them.

There were many times where we gave out cases and cases of water to villagers while we passed through and many times when we handed out entire pallets of MRE's to families and even times when we handed out pens and other little trinkets to children so that they'd have a reason to smile. So don't stand there with a straight face and tell us we are selfish and without humanity.

Someone should kick that guy's ass.

Job well done on the hyperlinks, but I don't count the First on my own post as spam. It's more like an MRE that's past its prime. Or maybe a nice blood sausage.

Tags for this video have been changed from 'MRE, food, military' to 'MRE, food, military, warrior approved' - edited by MrFisk

In all fairness, MREs are better than Spam

Now, if it'd been 2 MREs (Meals Rejected by Ethiopians) in 2 minutes, I'd have been impressed. Those cracker things are impossible to chow down without water, lol.

There's not much more to say, really. I normally hate "documentaries" filmed with chopped up clips and one sided jibes, but this pretty much matched my experience. I'd be a little more forgiving on the mess halls though since, in all fairness, the DFACs on bases that have them are almost always open. They close down temporarily throughout the day to clean up and prepare the next meal. The time windows that you have to get yourself an actual cooked meal are very open. Also, there's plenty of MRE's which you usually have to eat anyway seeing as most people don't have access to a real DFAC, or it's just not feasible to eat there even if you do.

Clearly you just don't get it. It is extremely easy to tell the difference between a genuine and a forced smile. When I was there, I spent about a month escorting the Iraqi contractors that were hired to build up our base. When they broke for lunch, I would sit aside and pick away at my MRE. I would watch them put up an impromptu tent for shade, and lay out massive quantities of food. They would then invite me to sit down with them and would share their food with me.

Have you ever stopped to think that maybe all this "They hate us and want us out" shit is propaganda? Propaganda didn't go away with WWII, you know. I'm not saying every one of them want us there, but I would say that the good majority of people do.

And thanks for the personal attacks. Those always make your argument unbeatable.

My Dad always said that most important part of his kit as a soldier was a little bottle of Tabasco sauce, because it was the only way MREs were made edible... stuff was like gold, the most popular guy in the unit was always the guy who'd most recently been on leave in Saigon, and come back with several dozen little red bottles.

Well, while the new ones are much better, and have some good snacks, My favorites were Beef Stew (before they fucked with it and made it watery) and the Chicken Tettrazini. You can say they are good all you want, and I would agree with you, to an extent. When I was a boot (new Marine) I used like them, too. But after a few years of going weeks and only having them to eat, you get sick of them REALLY fast.

In reply to this comment by thesnipe:
LOL that is sooo true. I can't tell you how many bags exploded from people pouring water and the cocoa into the bag and then putting books or even sitting on the bag opening. It was hard not to laugh. The best was when people complained their chocolate was bad after it had sat in the steaming bag with the meal and mostly everything else that came in the bag. I personally thought the new MREs are 10 times better then the old crap. They did a decent job this time and if prepared PROPERLY they are damn good meals. I even took a few back to my dorm for those late nights hitting the books.

LOL that is sooo true. I can't tell you how many bags exploded from people pouring water and the cocoa into the bag and then putting books or even sitting on the bag opening. It was hard not to laugh. The best was when people complained their chocolate was bad after it had sat in the steaming bag with the meal and mostly everything else that came in the bag. I personally thought the new MREs are 10 times better then the old crap. They did a decent job this time and if prepared PROPERLY they are damn good meals. I even took a few back to my dorm for those late nights hitting the books.

In reply to this comment by MarineGunrock:
ROFL @ MRE no0bs. We would feed them to the Iraqis that would work on our base - it was hilarious to watch them try to figure it out. They would pour water into the heater and then mix in their cocoa powder. They, however, don't know English, so there's no excuse for the morons you saw.

In reply to this comment by thesnipe:
I've worked many a shelters in my life with the Red Cross and ambulance corps. Working for hurricane shelters was the first I got my hands on the new style MREs, I was hooked. The pasta was actually decent but of course we all traded and bartered for the snacks (since we had our first pick of meals).

The funny/sad thing (depending on the type of person) was watching them try to work it. I can't tell you the countless numbers of people who took out the main meal and poured water on it, or ended up heating up their snacks...not to mention the fun with the MRE bombs...those are the days being an EMT gets quite interesting.

ROFL @ MRE no0bs. We would feed them to the Iraqis that would work on our base - it was hilarious to watch them try to figure it out. They would pour water into the heater and then mix in their cocoa powder. They, however, don't know English, so there's no excuse for the morons you saw.

In reply to this comment by thesnipe:
I've worked many a shelters in my life with the Red Cross and ambulance corps. Working for hurricane shelters was the first I got my hands on the new style MREs, I was hooked. The pasta was actually decent but of course we all traded and bartered for the snacks (since we had our first pick of meals).

The funny/sad thing (depending on the type of person) was watching them try to work it. I can't tell you the countless numbers of people who took out the main meal and poured water on it, or ended up heating up their snacks...not to mention the fun with the MRE bombs...those are the days being an EMT gets quite interesting.

ahhh yes the MRE bomb. A poor mans CS Gas Grenade. I fondly remember watching a bunch of brand new private trying to concoct one with the heater element and some tobasco sauce. All too funny when they accidentally set it off inside their own tent.

I've worked many a shelters in my life with the Red Cross and ambulance corps. Working for hurricane shelters was the first I got my hands on the new style MREs, I was hooked. The pasta was actually decent but of course we all traded and bartered for the snacks (since we had our first pick of meals).

The funny/sad thing (depending on the type of person) was watching them try to work it. I can't tell you the countless numbers of people who took out the main meal and poured water on it, or ended up heating up their snacks...not to mention the fun with the MRE bombs...those are the days being an EMT gets quite interesting.

Query: Did those people barter and trade with the various parts of the MREs?

Some of the folks who came back early to the New Orleans area (after Katrina) had a chance to learn about MRE's.