>>2317964Mountain House started off as military rations for special forces. They mention it on their website.
In the 1940’s into the 1960’s, there were 5 designations of rations.
>A rations and B rationsNot sure what the difference was really, but A rations were prepared food while B rations were food that needed to be prepared.
>C rationsThis was the precursor to the MCI and the MRE. It was the basic meal given to most soldiers do army guys stuff.
>D rationsAka, emergency chocolate, aka Hitlers secret weapon. It was a high chocolate bar, designed to not melt, and made purposefully with an unappealing taste. It also a warning label to not eat the entire thing in under 30 minutes (due to nausea and constipation).
>K rationsThis was a stream lined C ration. They were given to people who needed lighter loads and weren’t designed to be eaten for more than 15 days (which was a stretch). Paratroopers and special forces used these. It was lower in calories and less bulky.
Sometime in the 1960’s, there was a change up. The K ration and C ration were scrapped, and the MCI (meal combat, individual) was introduced. Colloquially the term “c ration” remained, but the meals were completely different. The new MCI was an improvement, but the military wanted something better for special forces; lighter, more compact, and with a long shelf life in the jungle. So they looked to free dried foods, and the company that now markets as Mountain House was contracted by the Army to make meals for Rangers.
So you can eat a Mountain Jouse meal and be a LARPerator and enjoy your time outside, despite the naysayers on /out/.
