New MREs Coming to a Field Near You

WASHINGTON -- Troops in the field about to grab a meal, ready to eat combat ration might want to choose the "Jamaican pork chop," the "pasta with alfredo sauce" or the "beef with mushrooms."

These entrees will soon be gone from the MRE inventory, to be replaced by new dishes that food technologists at the U.S. Army Soldier Systems Center at Natick, Mass., say will be a bigger hit with the troops. New this year to the MRE menu board are pot roast with vegetables, barbecue pork ribs and vegetable manicotti. New side dishes are hearty New England clam chowder and a carbohydrate-fortified applesauce.