MREs (Meals, Ready to Eat) were developed at Natick Labs in Massachusetts. They consist of a pouch with a main item, a second pouch with a support item, a package containing two very dry crackers, a small pouch containing some kind of spread to put on the crackers, and various support items like salt, pepper, coffee, coffee creamer powder, powdered cocoa, Tabasco sauce, sugar, a Kool-Aid like substance, candy, and what I think is supposed to be toilet paper.
During Desert Shield and Desert Storm, we were given MREs. These were the early ones, with such menus as Tuna Casserole, Dehydrated Pork Pattie, Dehydrated Hamburger, and Green-Thing-in-a-Pouch that claimed it was ham and eggs.
The Novelty Phase occurs when MREs are new to the user and the novelty precludes the critical examination of things like taste. This phase lasts for about one MRE—two or three for the slow learners.
In the Picky Phase, soldiers struggle to get the one or two edible meals included in the two dozen that come in a box. This phase can last from a week to a few months based on how often one is exposed. When issued EVERY DAY this phase lasts about two weeks. What two meals were edible was debated by every soldier, but the dehydrated "hockey pucks" [beef and pork patties], the Tuna Casserole, and the "Green Eggs and Ham" never made any list.
Resignation and Acceptance follows when the soldiers realize that they aren't really going to eat the one they got anyway. They take the one they are given and trade for the things they will eat. Local caches are set up with MRE contents for swap and trade. Periodically the contents of the caches must be dumped as they tend to fill up. This phase can last up to two months, based on desperation and tolerance to peanut butter that must be kneaded before opening.
The name of the “I'd rather starve” phase is self explanatory. The soldiers stopped eating. This lasts until re-deployment or death—sometimes beyond.
When I was deployed during Desert Storm, I sent a dehydrated pork patty MRE to my friends the lunch bunch being the co-workers I usually ate with back in Foxboro Massachusetts. The four of them dutifully took the thing to the cafeteria and attempted to derive actual nourishment from the contents of the MRE. I cannot describe their success as their descriptions of boiling water, microwaves, and the use of other items found in a modern cafeteria were vaguely disturbing and not entirely rational. I can say that the care packages from the four of them contained some of the nicest canned goods I ever received from family and friends and allowed me to survive the “Rather Starve” phase.
When I re-deployed, which is Army Speak for "Came Home", the Men's Club at my Synagogue invited me to their Sunday Lunch meeting to talk about being Jewish during Desert Storm. It turned out that many of the members worked at Natick Labs and had participated in the development of MREs. They made the mistake of asking me what the soldiers thought of MREs—so I told them of the four stages of MRE usage.
I was not invited back to the Men's Sunday Lunch Club.
Since Desert Storm, they have improved the product to the point where there are actual edible meals with real pieces of meat and cooking pouches in every bag.