Soldiers get ready-to-eat meals

From Malaya Business Insight (Oct 11): Soldiers get ready-to-eat meals

ARMY soldiers will soon be taking Meal Ready to Eat (MRE) during combat operations, ending an old and cumbersome practice where they bring with them rice, sardines, dried fish and even livestock for cooking that compromise their security.

The Army has allotted P12 million for the procurement, through public bidding, of a total of 60,150 packs of MREs for its soldiers in the frontline. The deadline for the submission of the bids and opening of the bids is on Nov. 4.

Army spokesman Col. Benjamin Hao said the procurement was the result of a study undertaken by the AFP’s general headquarters. He said soldiers were even given MREs in the past as part of the “experiment.”

“The experiment is now over…We decided to procure when there are no longer complaints (from soldiers). We asked soldiers in the field for their complaint….We are already a world-class Army because we’ll be using MREs,” said Hao.

Former defense undersecretary for finance munitions, installations and materiel Fernando Manalo first announced in 2013 the conduct of the study for the acquisition of the MREs for the consumption of troops involved in actual operations.

At present, soldiers bring with them rice, dried fish and canned foods which they cook while in the operation. There were even instances, Manalo said, where operating troops bring with them live goats and chicken for cooking.

Hao said there are several advantages in using MREs, including the improvement of the mobility of soldiers.

http://www.malaya.com.ph/business-news/news/soldiers-get-ready-eat-meals