First strike ration designed to meet soldiers' energy needs.

Soldiers on the move soon will have a light-weight packet of food designed to give them the energy boost they need to do their jobs. The Army Soldier Systems Center at Natick, Massachusetts, is developing a single-package, high-energy, nonutensils-required ration intended to substitute for the three packages of meals, ready to eat (MREs) that soldiers now carry. Called the first strike ration (FSR), it is intended for use by forward-deployed troops in the first 72 hours of combat.

Soldiers going into combat usually remove unwanted items from their MREs to lighten the load. In so doing, a day's worth of MREs totaling 3,600 calories is shaved to between 2,200 and 2,500. Each FSR provides about 2,300 calories and is almost half the weight and volume of the MREs. The FSR fits the Army's goal of becoming lighter, leaner, and more mobile as it transitions to the Objective Force.

The current FSR prototype contains two shelf-stable pocket sandwiches (a third is being added), two flavors of miniature HooAH! bars, two servings of energy-rich, glucose-optimized (ERGO) beverage mix, a dairy bar, crackers or bread, cheese spread, two sticks of beef jerky, a package of dried fruit, a modified version of applesauce called "Zapplesauce," a Ziploc bag, and an accessory packet.

The center is working on a quick energy booster gel called "Power Fuel" to add to the FSR. The gel is designed to deliver performance-enhancing natural food elements to troops in the field. The gel contains a mixture of glucose and maltodextrin--a complex carbohydrate--along with fat and a trace of protein. Current flavors are mixed berry, apple cinnamon, cherry vanilla, and mocha. The gel ingredients include juice concentrates, various carbohydrate types, unsaturated fats, and gums; the mocha gel also has caffeine.

The FSR is scheduled for fielding in 2007.