Man, I'm sure it's been said elsewhere, but the menus, the prototypes especially, seeing how they've evolved over time, gotten more nutrient dense, lighter, tastier, more varied in menu, changed to reflect the Mexicanization of the military, has made me appreciate one thing about the US. We really care about our soldiers, way more than other countries that actually fight wars. I mean yeah we send them off to die for Israel or whomever, but we're sending them off with better shit to eat at least. Like the French and Italian MREs looked fantastic, but they're impractical, use the sterno heaters, can't be eaten on the go, etc. And then you see the meals from our military-strategic rivals and they tend to look awful, and reflect the piss poor state of food manufacture over there. But there is a massive industrial complex in the US that is constantly trying to outdo itself to make what sounds insane, lightweight, desirable shelf stable meals that taste a little better than "good enough."