And what about going out in the field or overseas. Rations are good, but when you have finished your day, it's good to have a hot meal served up for you. I remember going to Turkey for a month, more or less straight after Norway. The US turned up with an arctic lorry, opened up it's side flaps and were ready to serve that evening.
We had just finished putting up our tents and Number 1 burners and handing out rat packs. The next day was business as usual.
Hot meals help with menu fatigue, as well. Guys tend to get tired of eating the same thing repeatedly.
Take MRE's for example. When I was in, (2000-2013) there were 24 different menu items(main meals) at any given time. ( Earlier versions of the rations- pre 1995, I think-- had as few as 12). Every year or two, the producers of the MRE would change the menus up a bit; get rid of a couple of dishes, add two new ones. Given that we sometimes ate MRE's that were 3 years old, we're talking 30 different meals at best. If you're in the field for a month, eating 3 MRE's a day, you're guaranteed to have the same meal at least once every ten days... and probably sooner, because there were always guys who had favorite mre's and would horde those. To say nothing of the fact that there were always a couple of MRE's that were universally despised ( The Black Bean & Rice Burrito, the Veggie omelet, and Turkey & diced potatoes--- aka, "Turkey and MotherF***ers", to name a few).
Hot meals help that problem in a big way, especially if you can get 2 a day to your guys.
