MRE(Meals Ready-to-Eat) Box B, Genuine U.S. Military Surplus, Menus 13-24

Packaged exactly how I remember when I was in the Air Force. Got all the menu items I wanted and matchesbthe item description.

I got Box A and Box B from this seller, both arrived in 4 days. Both boxes were from ~320th day of 2015 so pretty dang fresh. The TTI’s on both of the boxes were perfect so that’s a good indication that were stored properly and weren’t stored in a climate that was too warm.So far I've had a meal from each box and have no complaints, they are very fresh and were clearly stored properly!This is not the sellers fault, but my only complaint is that my Box B came with a Meal 5 instead of a Meal 23, but that’s an issue with the packing company Sopakco which packs these for the military.Would highly recommend these. People complain that these are "rejects from the middle east" which didn't get used, which could be true, but, from how I see it that's one of the primary sources to get these from as the military does not sell these commercially, so that's the risk that you take if you want these. The temp sticker on the box is a good indicator of the quality of the meals, if the box was stored in too hot a climate the indicator will show that.

The case I got from 123CloseOut was correct, genuine, of good date and sealed properly. Everything was as it should be.The meals are great, good variety. Each MRE comes with a variety of items besides the main dish like sides, snacks, desserts, drink mixes, gum, TP, wet naps, your tactical spoon... and a few other things here or there likes spices or hot sauce. The food is actually good, my kids WANT these over other food, camping or not. And.. with a grand total of 24 different meals (if you get case A + B), there is a good amount of variety. Forget the myths and rumors.The BIG reason I love MREs for hiking and camping is the self heating bag. Warm to super hot food in moments with no fire or stove, just a splash of water and a little waiting. You can stop in the middle of a hike and have a good meal with little fuss. Another great reason is all the stuff it comes with is great to munch on while on the move, and getting all the calories in ya that are needed for your trip. Each and every piece is sealed individually, so you can keep the kit in its main super strong sealed bag, or break down the kit to pack how ever you like.The down side for me is very little. I can only wish that each and every meal number came with a coffee kit, or five... not all numbers have one!! I also strip out some of the "extra" packaging when I pack, but that is not too bad of an issue at all.

OK for the price, but the case I purchased will reach its inspection date in December of 2023, only four months from now. This case or MREs should have been sold years ago! The time/temperature indicator is OK. In climate-controlled storage, MREs can last at least five years from the pack date (December 2020 in this case), so they will be OK for at least two more years from now (August 2023). I have eaten MREs that were over 10 years old, and they were OK, but they are not a reliable source of nutrition if they are this old and your only food source.

Excellent service

The old military K-rations got a bad rap for being marginally edible, but more recently the US military has adopted the concept of force multiplier because they realized that if troops weren't eating adequately they wouldn't be performing at their full potential. So they planned the meals to be nutritious and tasty. OK some meals, like the omelette, are still a little difficult to get down, but most taste quite good. One carton contains 12 complete and separate meals, which reduces the risk of food fatigue. If you suddenly need to bug out, the carton is small enough to grab and go.Then there's the convenience of just heating them in a pot of water, or using the heaters supplied with the meals. I've cooked many MREs on the dashboard of my truck so they're ready to eat when I get back to camp. Saves me the trouble of setting up a kitchen, storing foods, and preparing meals, and I can dedicate my ice chest to more important things, like beer. MREs are not cheap, but they last for years. You can travel a lot lighter with these and will have less trash to pack out. Unfortunately, the packaging is plastic and can't be recycled or burned.

The media could not be loaded. We have so far tried the Meal #17 Sausage Patty, Maple Flavored. The meals in this case all come with FREs (Flameless Ration Heater). The FRE produces a rather unpleasant odor, but that's part of the experience. The food is delicious. Meal #17 comes with the pork sausage patty, maple syrup, Maple flavored muffin top, crackers and peanut butter, coffee, electrolyte drink, peanuts, gum and moist towelette. Tons of fun and good food! We should probably keep them for emergencies, but will most likely just have them whenever we want a fun meal. I can't wait to try the other meals.

The product was the case I ordered, but there were a few things off about it. For one, 4 of the menus were different from the picture... Which is fine, but one of them was tuna and that is just disgusting. the other problem I encountered was that the case was packages on 2016, so it being 3 years later means it is about at the end of it's lifespan... Especially if it was sitting on the tarmack in the dessert for 8 hours. I tasted one and it seemed okay for immediate use one hikes and backpacking, but I would not rely on this for prepping. Also most of the heat packets are duds.