They do load up MRE's with sugar for the very reason umair has pointed out. The problem with Chocolate is that it is not very stable in high temperatrues. I am old enough to have eaten the old C Rations which included chocolate wafers that could actually be melted and turned into candles!
The US Army has an unwritten rule that troops will be served at least one bona fide hot meal a day. This isn't practical for some troops (SF, Rangers etc.) but for the average fighting man that's supposed to be the deal. Unfortunatley often enough that 1 hot meal originates from "T" rations which are nothing more than giant MRE's. It's the same stuff, just packaged in bulk to be heated and served by cooks. Yuk! I've never found more than 4 meals in a menu that were pallatable enough to choke down on a regular basis. Unfortunately said menu is usually available for a year or more so variety is not an option. It's the old axiom "if your really hungry you'll eat anything".
Anybody here that has soldiered will attest to the fact that good chow, and especially hot chow is tremendously important to troops and their psychological well being. At any rate the DoD just announced a year or two ago that they had upped the maxiumum allowable days soldiers could subsist solely on MRE's from 14 to 21 days. I wonder what happens after 21 days?
My favorite MRE is Beans and weenies. The weenies are 4 small hotdogs in a package, with a seperate pack of beans chock full of brown sugar. This meal has earned the nickname "The Four Fingers of Death". Best served with MRE bread if your lucky enough to get one (it's a mini loaf of bread and actually quite tasty).
My most hated MRE's are Chop Suey and the crappy Omlette, neither of which are fit for man or beast. Falling in line with these two meals are the cartons of "Shelf Milk". Shelf milk is ....well I don't know what it is exactly and I'm almost afraid to know what exactly was milked to produce this vile creation.
All of the above opinions are drawn from a spoiled westerner. I know some armies have existed on practically nothing at all. The North Vietnamese Army is almost as good of case study as there could be on how little soldiers can get by with (a ball of rice and some horrid fish sauce) and illustrates the advantages and disadvantages of certain cultures.
that have a tendency of eating till there bellies pop!! they swallow those compressed weat tablets and then they just drink loads of water , the water literally makes them(tablets) swell up there fore providing very little fat but a sence of full belly.
