LRP ration

The Food Packet, Long Range Patrol or "LRP ration" (pronounced "Lurp") was a U.S. Army special field ration. It was developed in 1964 during the Vietnam Conflict (1959-75) for use by Special Operations troops on long patrols deep in enemy territory, where the bulky canned MCI ration (formerly known as the C ration) proved too heavy for extended missions while afoot.

Origins

Even before the outbreak of World War II, Army planners and commanders had recognized the inadequacy of heavy canned wet rations when employed for infantry marching on long patrols, especially in extreme environments such as mountain or jungle terrain. To this end, the Jungle ration was developed and briefly issued during the first part of World War II. The Jungle Ration was a dry, lightweight multi-component daily meal totaling 4,000 calories that could be stored in light waterproof bags, easily carried by a foot soldier, and which would not spoil when exposed to heat and humidity for an extended period of time. Importantly, the Jungle ration was specifically designed to provide an increased amount of calories despite its lighter weight, ideal for a soldier operating in difficult jungle terrain on foot while carrying all of his equipment on his back. By all accounts the Jungle Ration was successful, however, cost concerns led to its replacement, first by substitution of increasingly heavier and less expensive canned components, followed by complete discontinuance in 1943. [Kearny, Cresson H., "Jungle Snafus...And Remedies", Oregon Institute (1996), pp. 288-291]

After World War II, U.S. army logisticians again re-standardized field rations, eliminating all lightweight rations in favor of heavy canned wet rations such as the C ration and the Meal, Combat, Individual ration. The overuse of heavy canned wet rations reached a ludicrous extreme during the Vietnam war, when U.S. soldiers were forced to stack their canned rations in socks to minimize weight and noise. [Kearny, Cresson H., "Jungle Snafus...And Remedies", Oregon Institute (1996), pp. 286-288]

The LRP Ration

Developed in 1966, LRP rations (nicknamed "Long rats") were designed to be lightweight and easily portable, the descendant of the WWII Jungle Ration. It was a freeze dried, vacuum-packed meal packed in an 11 oz. plastic pouch stored originally in a waterproof gray-green canvas envelope lined with aluminum foil.

Like the regular-issue C-ration, this came with a plastic spoon and a brown-foil accessory packet containing coffee, cream substitute, sugar, salt, Candy-Coated Gum (2 pieces), toilet paper, book of matches, and a pack of 4 commercial-grade cigarettes.

Menus consisted of a main entree and a dessert item.

Entrees included: Menu #1: Beef Hash, Menu #2: Chili con Carne, Menu #3: Spaghetti with Meat Sauce, Menu #4: Beef with Rice, Menu #5: Chicken Stew, Menu #6: Pork with Scalloped Potatoes,Menu #7: Beef Stew, and Menu #8: Chicken with Rice.

The dessert unit included chocolate-coated candy discs (2), individually-wrapped pieces of candy (Brachs caramels or Charms hard candies), or even freeze-dried fruit (pears, peaches or apricots) in the late-war issue rations.

The drawback was that 1.5 pints of water was required to cook and reconstitute them; troops usually just crumbled them up and ate them on the go. It was often mixed with canned C-Rations to reduce monotony and supply extra calories.

From the beginning, the new LRP ration was openly disliked by U.S. Army planners in the food services branch of the Quartermaster Command, who desired to re-standardize all field rations into a single class of ration in order to cut costs. [Kearny, Cresson H., "Jungle Snafus...And Remedies", Oregon Institute (1996), pp. 286-288] Despite the LRP ration's suitability for a wide variety of missions by infantry on jungle patrol missions, production was severely controlled, restricting U.S. issue to some LRP units and special forces. [Kearny, Cresson H., "Jungle Snafus...And Remedies", Oregon Institute (1996), pp. 286-288] Though major U.S. food manufacturers offered to deliver the LRP ration in much greater quantities (30-40 million per year) for general issue to all infantry forces on extended field missions and jungle patrols, production was limited to 5 million units in 1967, rising to just 9 million in 1968. [Kearny, Cresson H., "Jungle Snafus...And Remedies", Oregon Institute (1996), pp. 286-288]

The LRP ration continued to be procured in small quantities until the mid-1980s, when another wet ration, the Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE) was introduced. U.S. Army food services personnel again viewed the new wet ration as suitable for all environments, and the MRE was adopted with the intention of replacing the LRP as well as all other specialized rations.

Revisions

The MRE was lighter than the C-Ration and had more calories than the LRP ration, but US Special Operations forces found it too bulky. Standard practice was to strip out items deemed "unnecessary", which also reduced the ration's caloric content. This forced the adoption of a special ration for light troops.

In 1994, a new version called the LRP-I ("Food Packet, Long-Range Patrol - Improved") was created. It came in a brown plastic retort pouch that allowed the user to reconstitute the ration directly in the pouch.

In 2001, the LRP-I was merged with the Meal, Cold-Weather (MCW) ration to create the consolidated MCW/LRP ration. As in years past, this was done in order to further standardize supply and save costs, as both were considered compact, high-calorie meals that were designed for use by active soldiers in the field. The meals differ only in the accessory packs; one is geared for use by light infantry and commando units and the other is geared for use in cold weather or high altitudes. The meal weighs 1 pound and comes in 12 different entrees.

ee also

*United States military ration
*Meal, Combat, Individual ration (MCI)
*C ration
*Meal, Ready-to-Eat (MRE)

Notes