U.S. Marines go hungry

[Luke T.]

somewhere there will be warehouses full of tinned calories.....the problem is always getting it to the right people at the rights time. Infantry are always saddled with huge loads even before food is even considered...."It'll be driven up to you later" yea sure.....

Lets see if I can scrounge a kebab of that guy......

Exactly.

From a story on NPR this morning:

Bolton says a typical infantry platoon needs to carry more than 150 pounds of batteries if it is going on a five-day mission. The batteries power a laundry list of electronics. "They have night vision devices. They have image intensification devices, IR devices, laser range finders, radios, GPS, even a few laptops out there," says Bolton. "The average energy [need] for the soldier is going up because we give him more electronics."

No wonder they suffer weight loss.

It's an interesting read, separate from the topic of this thread. A new power source technology that will have commercial impact.

 

[Tony]

I can't speak for others but the re-enforcement I get is from many years of experience. I find it highly, highly unlikely that our soldier's are being [medically] starved.

Why?

 

[CapelDodger]

Institutional food tends towards the unexciting. That's the nature of things.

It's surely better that US soldiers in Iraq are given a meal-allowance, to be spent locally, rather than being at the receiving end of a lucrative catering contract negotiated in Washington. Better for the Iraqi economy, and better for the security of US personnel.

 

[Rob Lister]

Why?

'cause I've 'been there, done that'. Quantity of food was never, ever a problem.

quality* however, always left something (understatement) to be desired.

Plus, the military sometimes has the NERVE to serve mostly healthy food.

That wouldn't be so bad but when you combine healthy with naturally nasty the result is finding decent food elsewhere.



*I'm referring only to the taste of the food. Rarely** was food less than safe...just not properly prepared or otherwise suiting typical spoiled tastes.

**Sometimes*** stores are not properly rotated and you can get a batch of questionable meals.

***footnotes within footnotes within footnotes are often questionable in and of themselves.

 

[Tony]

'cause I've 'been there, done that'. Quantity of food was never, ever a problem.

You've been on the ground with this guy and his unit, in Iraq, during the period when he was requesting food from his mom? That's a bold claim. Do you have evidence for it?

 

[Cylinder]

Why?

Mutiny.

 

[BobK]

I guess the Marines didn't have any pillaging drills during basic training.

 

[epepke]

A bit of a derail, but the British version of MREs seem an awful lot better than the American ones. Vegetable curry, tikki masala, and great stuff like that. Much more variety in the regular meals, let alone the religious ones.

 

[Cylinder]

You've been on the ground with this guy and his unit, in Iraq, during the period when he was requesting food from his mom? That's a bold claim. Do you have evidence for it?

If requesting food from one's family is evidence of food shortages, then we are left with a much larger problem than just Iraq.

 

[Rob Lister]

You've been on the ground with this guy and his unit, in Iraq, during the period when he was requesting food from his mom? That's a bold claim. Do you have evidence for it?

Not with this guy in his unit in this war. Rather, with other guys in other units in other wars (conflicts, actions, etc).

Evidence? You'll just have to take my word for it. There are many vets on this board. I am but one.

 

[Tony]

Not with this guy in his unit in this war.

So when you say "been there done that", you don't really mean it. You mean "haven't been there and haven't done that, but been in a similar situation". That's meaningless and effectively the same as saying you don't know but you're gonna make some **** up anyway.

Evidence? You'll just have to take my word for it. There are many vets on this board. I am but one.

And unless they've been with this guy in Iraq, their testimony is as meaningless as yours.

 

[a_unique_person]

somewhere there will be warehouses full of tinned calories.....the problem is always getting it to the right people at the rights time. Infantry are always saddled with huge loads even before food is even considered...."It'll be driven up to you later" yea sure.....

Lets see if I can scrounge a kebab of that guy......

Reminds me of "Chickenhawk". Warehouses full of stuff, guys at the front line seriously short of essentials.

 

[Cylinder]

And unless they've been with this guy in Iraq, their testimony is as meaningless as yours.

Please quote me the part where this Marine claims that food is unavailable or in chronic short supply, remembering the rules for evidence that you have set.

 

[Tony]

If requesting food from one's family is evidence of food shortages, then we are left with a much larger problem than just Iraq.

Yeah, that problem is called George W Bush. But that aside, I am not claiming that there is a food shortage, only that this unit is in such a situation that they need to request food from home. What does that mean? So far I've seen a lot of spin from the True Believers, but very little substance.

 

[Tony]

Please quote me the part where this Marine claims that food is unavailable or in chronic short supply.

No, there is no reason to. I might as well ask you to quote the part where he said he prefers Xbox over PlayStation.

 

[Rob Lister]

So when you say "been there done that", you don't really mean it. You mean "haven't been there and haven't done that, but been in a similar situation". That's meaningless and effectively the same as saying you don't know but you're gonna make some **** up anyway.



And unless they've been with this guy in Iraq, their testimony is as meaningless as yours.

Does Desert Storm (circa 1991) count?

Look, I'm telling you why I don't believe the claim. It's because I've been there, done that. It wasn't the case then with a far less adaquate supply system. I highly doubt it has changed for anything other than the better.

Your novice opinion may vary. Fine. Believe what you want and ignore what you want. I don't care. I think the article is only intended as a boldface attention grabber meant to advance a specific certain political view without actually stating it. I think it is utter bunk. And I have experience and therefore know at least somewhat about which I speak.

You want evidence of a non-food shortage (a negative), then perhaps you should focus on getting evidence for the stated food shortage (a positive).

Otherwise, wise up. Stop being so easily played.

 

[Cylinder]

Yeah, that problem is called George W Bush. But that aside, I am not claiming that there is a food shortage, only that this unit is in such a situation that they need to request food from home. What does that mean? So far I've seen a lot of spin from the True Beleivers, but very little substance.

Do you think it is uncommon for deployed persons to request food items from home?

 

[Tony]

Does Desert Storm (circa 1991) count?

No. For reasons I trust you know.

Look, I'm telling you why I don't believe the claim. It's because I've been there, done that. It wasn't the case then with a far less adaquate supply system. I highly doubt it has changed for anything other than the better.

Ok.

And I have experience and therefore know at least somewhat about which I speak.

But you don't have experience, you've admitted it. You're not in Iraq with this guy and his unit. You don't know what is going on. Neither do I. All you've got is your personal experience with being in the Marines.

You want evidence of a non-food shortage (a negative), then perhaps you should focus on getting evidence for the stated food shortage (a positive).

What stated shortage?

 

[Cylinder]

No it doesn't. All it does is relay an anecdote of one soldier (and his unit) going hungry and asking his mom to send food.

Where is your evidence for this claim?

 

[Rob Lister]

No. For reasons I trust you know.
What stated shortage?

We are clearly not on the same wavelength.

I've assertained this however: It is unlikely you understand this thread nor any post within it; possibly not even your own.