Using lessons learned to improve the individual rations
Following the declaration of the World War 2 era C-rations as obsolete, the Army in 1958 introduced the Meal, Combat, Individual (MCI) ration. The troops, noting the similarity to the appearance of the withdrawn C-ration, continued to refer to the MCIs as C-rations. The MCI was designed to be an improvement over the C-ration, offering a respite to the monotony of the similar meals by adding some additional items and varying the available entrées. It remained in use until 1980. In its twelve years of use it gained about the same level of popularity as its predecessor, which is to say, it was not beloved by the troops forced to consume it.
An MCI came in a cardboard box and contained several cans in which most of the rations were packed. It also contained a foil pack which held accessories and a plastic spoon to enable elegant dining. The entrée content was clearly identified on the box, eliminating one of the complaints over the C-ration, where the contents of the meal were often unknown until the cans were opened. Can openers were also included. The can containing the entrée was referred to as the M unit and being the Army, there were several variations of the M unit, M 1, M 2, or M 3, depending on what the can contained. Most consumers didn’t care.
The meat unit could contain items varying from boned chicken to beans and franks, and meatloaf, beefsteak, and spaghetti and meat balls in tomato sauce were just some of the selections. Breakfast MCIs offered eggs and chopped ham, which could also be had for other meals. A meal’s bread (called the B unit by the Army and varying by number B 1, B 2, etc, depending on content) might be crackers, hardtack, cookies, and a spread can, identified by its being long and flat, offered jam, peanut butter, or cheese spreads, dependent on the contents of the B unit. A can called the D unit, with appropriate numeric modifiers as above, offered dessert.
The accessory pack, which was of foil, provided the diner with salt and pepper, sugar and non-dairy creamer to be used with the instant coffee it also contained, chewing gum in candy coated rectangles a la Chiclets, four cigarettes and waterproof matches, and toilet paper. The cigarettes were the same as those available commercially and were identified as to their brand, leading to trading between menthol and non-menthol cigarette smokers. In 1975 the cigarettes were removed from all future MCIs, as the government continued to urge Americans to quit smoking due to health concerns. Existing stocks of MCIs were left alone.
MCIs were used in Vietnam with some of the foods providing uses not intended by the nutritionists. The peanut butter spread was found to make a fine fuel source with which to heat water for coffee, rendering it useful despite the troops finding it unpalatable. MCIs came with a trioxene fuel tablet for heating the entrée and water for coffee, but the peanut butter offered an alternative fuel. MCIs were bulky, heavy, and thus inconvenient for use in the field where troops also found the rattling cans made too much noise on patrol. Supposed to be an improvement on the C-ration, they were actually little improvement at all.