The advantages and disadvantages of civilian and military MREs

Ready meals are becoming a very popular option for people looking to stock up on their emergency gear. And why not? If it’s good enough for the US military to feed soldiers in the field, it should be good enough for civilians too. The problem, however, is that military MREs are not available for commercial resale to the public. However, this has not prevented cases of military MREs from being offered for sale online or in army surplus stores. Of course, if there’s a demand for the stuff, people will supply it.

Given the demand for MREs by the general public, manufacturers are also producing a civilian version of these convenient meals. The question is how do civilian MREs compare to military MREs? The answer is there isn’t much of a difference. After all, it is the same companies that supply the US military with their MREs. They’re just expanding their market to include civilians.

As military MREs undergo more rigorous testing with their packaging requirements, you also need to be aware that they will withstand airdrops and extreme temperature ranges. You must be wondering, do you really need to drop your food from thousands of feet in the air? Or going through sub-zero temperatures or extreme heat? If the answer is no, you don’t need military MREs.

You may also be wondering about the caloric differences between the civilian version and the military version. While military meals average about 1200 calories, civilian versions aren’t far behind at 1000 calories. This is for a single package. If you have one for each of your three meals, you’ll burn 3000 calories for the day, which is more than enough for even an active male.

Civilian MREs are a good choice for the public as there really is no need to go all out with a military version. If you buy civilian MREs you are likely to get a better quality product as you will not know where the military MRE came from or how it was stored since it was not purchased from a direct source.

These are the pros and cons for military and civilian MREs. Whichever version of MRE you choose, it’s always a good idea to have a case around the house for emergencies.

Thanks to Timothy Dalton | #advantages #disadvantages #civilian #military #MREs