Mersey troops denied fresh rations in Afghanistan

Oct 12 2007 By Lewis May, Liverpool Daily Post

afghanistan

OPERATIONAL Ration Packs (ORPs) are designed to give soldiers a balanced diet containing the required amount of calories until they can be provided meals on operations using fresh rations.

ORPs are available in both 24-hour and 10-man formats.

The 24-hour version is an individual ration issued to service personnel for personal preparation whereas a 10-man ORP is usually prepared by qualified chefs for group feeding.

To ease the problem of some items not being ideally suited for use in a very hot environment, troops using 24-hour ORP, deployed on Operation Telic and Operation Herrick during the summer months, are being issued with five new hot climate supplements to encourage hydration and build in additional variety.

The new range of products includes dairy shakes, powdered drinks, muesli bars and energy bars, tuna pasta, chicken noodles, fruit puree desserts and a mushroom dish for vegetarians.

EARLIER this year, it was revealed more money was spent on feeding a prisoner in jail than on food for a British soldier, sailor or airman.

Air Chief Marshall Sir Jock Stirrup, chief of the defence staff, told MPs at Westminster that the armed forces are “very stretched” by deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq.

He is just one of a number of senior military figures to speak out about the Government's treatment of the armed forces.

The Ministry of Defence said that it spends just £1.51 a day per person on feeding servicemen or women in their home bases.

By contrast, the English Prison Service spends £1.87 per prisoner per day on food.

In a Parliamentary written answer, the MoD revealed that the Daily Messing Rate (DMR) recorded for each member of the armed forces at their home base or port has fallen since a new catering contractor was hired last October.

The same statistics suggest that spending on food for frontline troops in Afghanistan and Iraq has fallen by a fifth since last year.

In July, 2006, the MoD said spending per day for personnel on operations in Afghanistan and Iraq was £3.11. Now the figure is £2.49.