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A Rock Or Something


Subdeacon Joe

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http://taskandpurpose.com/heres-ridiculous-story-behind-rock-something/

 

 

rock-or-something-840x420.png

 

 

“We were designing the [flameless ration heater] directions and wanted to show an object to rest the heater on,” said Oleksyk, who recalled Pickard saying: “‘I don’t know. Let’s make it a rock or something.’ So we wrote ‘rock or something’ on the object, kind of as a joke.”

 

 

So now we know.

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  • 3 months later...

 

I ordered a regular T and a long-sleeved T for Sassparilla Kid as stocking stuffers... and in the package was a nice li'l note, a couple of "Rock or Something" decals, and a green plastic "army man." :)

 

I thought that was kind of a nice whimsical touch! ^_^

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Um...since rocks were invented?

 

Geez....you're OLD!

 

:D

To be clear, C rations were still in the inventory when I first enlisted, but were not widely used. We mostly ate the first generation of MRE (with the chocolate-brown packaging), which did not have a heater. The heaters came along later. I think we're on the 4th or so generation of MREs now, and heaters (including the "rock or something" instructions) are standard.

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Back in the day of the almost brown boot army, he had a different source of heat.

It was called a fire. Mostly frowned up on by the higher echelons personnel but they

did exist. I saw one in West Germany when the temp dropped to -24 degrees Fahrenheit.

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Imaginative soldiers have often found ways to warm up, sometimes those methods were not good for long term health. Walking guard in front of the DEW line radars was one.

 

I always New we could put our lead lined containers 18" apart but never did it.

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We heated "Cs" on the manifold of whatever vehicle was handy. Germany-early 60s

However we were an elite artillery battalion with superb cooks. When everyone else were eating "Cs" we were eating T-Bones and baked potatoes.

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My uncle told me he used shoe polish in a tin to heat his C rations.

 

I always wondered where "rock or something" came from. I used that term on a procedure I wrote once years ago :-) My boss got a kick out of it.

Edited by Pat Riot, SASS #13748
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We heated "Cs" on the manifold of whatever vehicle was handy. Germany-early 60s

However we were an elite artillery battalion with superb cooks. When everyone else were eating "Cs" we were eating T-Bones and baked potatoes.

Most likely the sgt major cashed in some serious IOUs.

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In the 60's C-4 worked very well and heat a canteen cup full of water quickly. Quickly was more important to us at the time than safety or other considerations.

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To be clear, C rations were still in the inventory when I first enlisted, but were not widely used. We mostly ate the first generation of MRE (with the chocolate-brown packaging), which did not have a heater. The heaters came along later. I think we're on the 4th or so generation of MREs now, and heaters (including the "rock or something" instructions) are standard.

I've been involved in military rations since 1957.

 

C rats weren't too bad and I never personally saw anything else until after I got out in 1978.

 

I do remember a lot of guys going to surplus stores and bringing back cases of canned heat / Sterno. Made life a bit more tolerable.

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In the 60's C-4 worked very well and heat a canteen cup full of water quickly. Quickly was more important to us at the time than safety or other considerations.

First time ever did that (I had seen it many times before) I caused a new 2LT a major cardiac upset. :D

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They didn't trust me with C-4. In fact they took me off the right side position on the mortar


and put me on the left side. That was after I almost blew up the training instructor and myself


on the hand grenade range.



As far as sterno went, most of the guys in the Company would drink the stuff if not supervised.


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Howdy,

 

Many years ago when Japan cars were a novelty, I saw

Never Open This CAP Usually

on a car at the Chicago Auto Show.

I always thought it would be fun to

put on a baseball cap.

Never did.

Best

CR

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