Heating Field Rations

Field kitchens or other group feeding solutions are preferred if available, but often the individual soldier has to prepare his own meal. The use of Meal, Ready to Eat (MRE) rations has improved the meal quality and simplified preparation, but there is still a basic need to heat the food when possible. Heating not only helps control disease, but also makes the meal more paletable.

PFC Daniel Swain, a medic with the 9th Infantry Scout Company, heats a Canteen Cup of water over a Canteen Cup Stove to prepare a hot meal of field rations, Ft. Lewis, WA, 22 Mar 1982
PFC Daniel Swain, a medic with the 9th Infantry Scout Company, heats a Canteen Cup of water over a Canteen Cup Stove to prepare a hot meal of field rations, Ft. Lewis, WA, 22 Mar 1982.

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6 Jul 1942 Flying Tigers in Burma and China integrated into the US Army Air Forces as the China Air Task Force with Gen. Claire Chennault commanding the new unit.
6 Jul 1943 US and Japanese naval forces fight the Battle of Kula Gulf off Kolombangara, in the New Georgia Islands group of the Solomon Islands.
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Heating Individual Field Rations

Since World War II, methods used for heating individual field rations include:

Several fuels have been provided since World War II to give soldiers in the field a reliable way to generate heat, even under very poor conditions. These fuels are described on this page about Canteen Cup Stove Fuels.