BETTER FOOD FOR OUR FIGHTING MEN

BETTER FOOD FOR OUR FIGHTING MEN showcases images from the U.S. Army's Natick Soldier Research, Development, and Engineering Center, highlighting the challenges of feeding American soldiers. The center employs military personnel and contractors to improve their diets and daily lives. The book explores the logistical, psychological, and food safety aspects of feeding troops, including supply chains, delivery systems, and flavor preservation. A glossary explains acronyms and describes the staples of a typical soldier's diet, as well as the new technologies that enabled the food industry to manufacture and supply rations.

Format: Paperback / softback
Publication date: 03 October 2022
Publisher: RVB Books

BETTER FOOD FOR OUR FIGHTING MEN is a collection of images from the archives of the U.S. Army's Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center near Boston, Massachusetts, produced mostly in the 1970s and 1980s. The center is still operational today and employs both military personnel and civilian contractors in its mission to improve the daily lives and diets of American soldiers. Feeding the troops is fraught with logistical, psychological, and food safety challenges, as bacteria are an enemy, supply chains are vital, and intricate delivery systems are required. The goal is to provide sustenance and boost morale across the full range of terrain and troop configurations, from mess halls for the officers and self-service buffets for the rank-and-file to battlefield canteens and survival rations for commandos behind enemy lines. Solving this logistical puzzle is like trying to stuff a square peg into a round hole: once you have devised ways to optimize the daily nutritional requirements of the bodies in question, you need to work out the best solutions for preserving and transporting the food, and still guarantee a minimum level of flavor to keep the soldiers happy. A glossary with 24 entries explains some of the acronyms used in the image captions, describes the staples of a typical soldier's diet, and traces the new technologies that enabled the food industry to manufacture and supply those rations.

ISBN-13: 9782492175220