Industrial Base: Contractors Have Ability to Meet Requirements for Rations During Wartime

In a military operation, large numbers of deployed of troops require significant quantities of rations that will not spoil during transit to the combat area. The Defense Logistics Agencys DLA Defense Personnel Support Center DPSC in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, purchases and provides the armed services with MREs and Tray packs to fill that need. The demand for these rations is high in wartime and low in peacetime, since they are consumed primarily in field operations and training. To maintain an industrial base capable of a large surge in production to meet wartime needs, contractors need to 1 receive enough peacetime orders to keep them viable, 2 sell similar products commercially, or 3 do both. The operational ration industrial base includes MRE retorters contractors that cook food in special ovens, MRE assemblers contractors that assemble food pouches and accessories into food bags, and tray pack retorters contractors that cook and seal food in large pans. In fiscal year 1993, DPSC obligated about 90 million for 21.6 million MREs and about 28 million for 1.4 million Tray packs.