8 minute read
TOD: GET SOME SCRAN
GET SOME SCRAN!
IN PREVIOUS INSTALMENTS JON HAS TALKED ABOUT BEING PREPARED, FROM GAME DAY BOOKING TO IN DEPTH CLOTHING AND LAYERING INFO. ONE THING WE ALL LOVE BUT COMPLETELY OVERLOOK ON A GAME DAY, ESPECIALLY THOSE OF US WHO ENTER A 24 HOUR PLUS EVENT, IS FOOD AND DRINK - OR WHAT WE BRITS FONDLY REFER TO AS “SCRAN”!
It’s important here that I state I am not a Nutritionist and the content of this article is not to be taken as medical advice, nor should you deviate from any advice a professional has given you, but IT IS based on good old common sense and a bit of research!
Most of us are aware that your average active adult male requires approximately 2500 calories and a female requires 2000 calories per day to maintain their current body weight. Studies have shown, active military personnel that are on patrol or the front line often require double that to maintain their body weight. That’s 5000 calories or 4000 calories per day. It stands to reason doesn’t it? If you are constantly moving, firing, carrying heavy kit, under serious pressure and stressors and so on, you will burn more than normal to fuel your body.
Next onto hydration; studies show us that the average person should be taking on a minimum of 2 litres of water a day. That includes the liquid in our foods. The US Military recommends 4 US Gallons of water a day for consumption, that’s 15.2 litres of water a day, SEVEN times more than a civilian! Granted that is for personnel operating in hot climates, but it’s quite an eye opener, especially when you compare it to what a “normal” civilian requires. I’ve played in 30 degree Celsius (86 degree Fahrenheit) temps and drank nothing like that. I should have though, I felt bloody awful for the latter part of the event and well into the next day.
The problem with not eating or (more importantly) drinking enough is that there is a huge impact on the body and its ability to function and concentrate on the task at hand. Studies have shown that just 2% loss of your body’s water can have a significant impact on your cognitive functions. This happens after as little as two hours. TWO HOURS!
One of the tests that I found interesting was subjects had to repeatedly press a button when instructed by a visual cue to do so for varying periods of time. This is where dehydrated individuals fared the worst.
Sound familiar? See something, press a button (or at least, pull a trigger).
Armed with that information what options are available to us to ensure that we stay hydrated and well fed? Food is a complex one, personal tastes and preferences really dictate what we choose. There’s another concern here and that’s storage. Food can
take up a lot of room in the gear bag that may be put to better use with other kit. You could always take a pack up but if you’re in the field for 24+ hours, are a few sarnies and some crisps and chocolate gonna do you? Wouldn’t a hot meal just before or during the night really warm the cockles? What about a brew, I’m British after all…?
“RATS” FOR A REASON
We all know that the military provides ration packs and that they come in a variety of menus. These ration packs are often found in a complete 24 hour solution which is ideal for an individual in this setting. They are ideal as they provide a caloric intake of 4000 calories per pack, plus they come with electrolyte based drinks that will provide you with the essential salts that your body secretes throughout the day via urination and perspiration. The packs come with three meals (Breakfast, Lunch and Dinner with a desert of some kind), high energy snacks (often bars and biscuits), paper towels, reusable cutlery in the shape of a spork, salt, pepper, (sometimes Tabasco), teabags, coffee, creamer, sugar, hot chocolate and my personal favourite, a few boiled sweets (yup, British again!). The menus and pack contents differ depending on the country of origin. Below are a few examples of British Army Menus. • Menu 1: Muesli with milk, Bean and pasta salad, Chickpea curry, long grain rice, ginger pudding & ginger sauce, hot pepper sauce, apple/peach puree, oatmeal block, cookie & cream bar, smooth peanut butter, roasted and salted peanuts,
cheese spread, 5 x drink powders. • Menu 2: All day breakfast, chicken and mushroom pasta, tomato & pasta salad, sticky toffee pudding, hot pepper sauce, mango fruit/apple/banana puree, cheese out biscuits, sesame seed bar, just nuts mix, 5 x drink powders. • Menu 3: All day breakfast, steak veg & dumplings, thai style chicken soup, sticky toffee pudding, Hot pepper sauce, tropical fruit and nut mix, biscuit browns, sesame seed bar spread, smooth peanut butter, 5 x drink powder. • Menu 4: Vegetarian all day breakfast, tomato pasta salad, Indonesian style spicy rice with pork, ginger pudding with ginger sauce, hot pepper sauce, cherry flavoured boiled sweets, just nuts, strawberry jam, oat digestive biscuits, cranberry cereal bar, smooth peanut butter, 5 x drink powder. • Menu 5: Maple syrup bun, meat sticks & rice, thai style chicken soup, ginger pudding & ginger sauce, hot pepper sauce, just nuts, fruit puree, smooth peanut butter, biscuits brown, cookie and cream cereal bar, 5 x drink powder. There are also Vegetarian and Vegan options available. The meals are all pre-cooked so they can simply be opened and eaten. Another advantage of the “Rat Pack” is the really long shelf life. The dates are usually marked for 3 years but in reality, they’re good for up to 10 years if stored correctly. A lot of people don’t like the army rations because they aren’t the most tasty of options (although I have no issue with them) so what is an alternative?
Wayfarer offers pre-made, long lasting meals for the more discerning palette and comes in a variety of options. The only downside is that you are buying individual meals and not a predetermined set. That’s okay, but be aware of the cost implications. An Army “Rat Pack” will usually set you back about
UK£20 for a complete set, a single Wayfarer meal is around UK£5 each (you also don’t get the drinks and accompaniments that you get with a “Rat Pack”.
It’s always worth keeping a bag of morale makers (Haribo) and a bag of trail mix on your person at all times for something to nibble at.
The next area is water. There are a myriad of solutions available to us such as, canteens and water bladders for personal carrying and bottles that can be left at a FOB (if available). You’ll want to consider the amount of water that you’ll need too. MRE’s are prehydrated so there’s no concern there but if you want them warm you’re going to need a couple hundred milliliters per meal, the upside of this is you can use this water for a brew. You may also want a helmet wash and to clean your teeth so you’ll need more. In reality, in the UK you’ll be wanting approximately 5 litres for 24 hours, 3 litres for drinking and 2 litres for general use.
If you are going out for longer periods and the game site doesn’t supply a water source, you may want to consider a water purification bottle or straw. These filter out any nasty impurities as you fill or drink from a source respectively. A bottle can be had from as little as UK£30 and straws can be found for around UK£15.
COOKING UP A STORM!
That brings us to the cooking apparatus. What could or should you use to heat your scran?
The cheapest and easiest option is a Hexi Block Stove, fuel blocks and mess tin. All in all that should be around £10-15. These are lightweight, take up minimal room in your pack and are easy to use, just remember to bring matches or a lighter. The downside to these systems is that they are slow to heat water, require time to cool when you’ve finished using and the open flame can be easily seen at night, not ideal if you’re trying to stay hidden. If you ask Bill he swears by an MSR “Pocket Rocket” which takes up minimal space and only weighs 73g, but then of course I need to factor in fuel as well… and mess tins… it’s a great little cooker for sure, but an “allrounder” is my solution. A more expensive but better performing all-rounder is something like the JetBoil System. These are a gas burning system that includes a self-contained cup and burner so you don’t have to worry about other tins. You simply
screw a small tank of fuel on the bottom and press a button, hey presto, you’re heating water. Jetboil claim that their system will bring water to a rolling boil in under two minutes and operate effectively down past -6 degrees Celcius (20 degrees Fahrenheit). A Jetboil Micromo will cost you around £130 but it’s a versatile system that can be used in other pursuits.
So that’s it, ample food and drink will help keep you more alert, happier and in the game so that you don’t just survive… YOU THRIVE! AA
