This is one of the items I carried in the inside pocket of my flak vest in the off chance that a sympathetic Iraqi would want to sell me a chicken. During the initial weeks of the invasion our infantry units moved so fast that the supply convoys carrying our chow and water were often left behind; unfortunately that meant that we usually ate once a day, and sometimes even had to split MRE's with our fellow Marines. A combination of desert heat, carrying a full combat load, little sleep, and poor nutrition is one of the best diet weight loss plans I know of! I remember one day Doc Lowry and I were sitting in out fighting hole and we decided to split one of our precious MRE's. It was one of the hamburger (and I use that term loosely) ones so along with half a patty and a piece of "Russian bread" (as I always called it) we also got eight combo pretzels each. I'll never forget that; in fact, at times it got so bad that we even ate the Charms candy that came in the condiment packet- that's when you know you're starving! Anyway, I drew this diagram on the back of an MRE main meal box, writing right to left, as that is how Arabic is read.
