Unitized Group Ration

TheUnitized Group Ration(UGR) is aUnited States military rationused by theUnited States Armed ForcesandDepartment of Defense(DoD). It is intended to sustain groups of Americanservice memberswith access to afield kitchen,serving as afield rationand agarrison ration.It is the modern successor to several older alphabetized rations—namely theA-ration,B-ration, and T-ration—combining them under a single unified system.UGRs are designed to meet the Military Daily Recommended Allowance when averaged over a 5 to 10 day period, with each meal providing between 1,300 and 1,450kcal.
The UGR was introduced in 1999, and is currently known to be used by theU.S. Army,U.S. Marine Corps,U.S. Air Force, andNational Guard.TheU.S. Navyalso reportedly uses the UGR for disembarked operations, using the Navy Standard Core Menu (NSCM) aboardnaval vessels.
The UGR's individual field and combat equivalent is the better-knownMeal, Ready-to-Eat(MRE), with theFirst Strike Ration(FSR),Long Range Patrol(LRP), andMeal, Cold Weather(MCW) serving as specialized field equivalents.
Prior to the UGR's implementation, the U.S. military had several different types of rations used to feed service members in the rear or out of combat. Among them were the A-ration, consisting of fresh, refrigerated, or frozen food prepared in akitchenand served in amess,dining facility, or elsewhere; the B-ration, consisting of packaged, preserved foods prepared in a field kitchen; and the T-ration, a semi-perishable meal packaged, heated, and served in atraypack similar tofrozen meals; among others.
However, this created issues for militarycooks, who "had to order an average of 34 separate items for each meal, and could only hope that they arrived when needed", forcing them to manage logistics and administrative functions instead of solely food preparation.Around 1995, the U.S. military launched a modernization program to resolve this issue while also increasing the quality and decreasing the cost of existing rations. Research was headed by theU.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Centerand theU.S. Army QuartermasterCenter and School. In an effort to simplify logistics and ensure all necessary ingredients were provided, the UGR was created in 1999, combining elements and offerings of the A-ration, B-ration, T-ration, and commercial items.
The UGR was initially trialed with the Army, with their first shipments received around 2000; the Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy also began receiving UGRs at unspecified dates.The UGR-E was introduced in 2006.The UGR-B was phased out and replaced by the mostly similar UGR-M at an unspecified date.
As of 2023, four types of Unitized Group Rations exist.
TheUnitized Group Ration – Heat & Serve(UGR-H&S) is the successor to the T-ration, and consists of precooked, shelf-stable tray packentrées. The UGR-H&S ishermetically sealedcan be prepared using a tray ration heater or by immersing it in boiling water, ready to serve in 30 to 45 minutes. The UGR-H&S has an offering of 5 breakfast menus and 10 lunch/dinner menus; each meal provides an average of 1,450 kcal. Each UGR-H&S module contains 50 meals, with each pallet holding 400 meals. UGR-H&S modules have a minimum shelf life of 18 months at 80 °F (26.6 °C).
TheUnitized Group Ration – A(UGR-A) is the successor to the A-ration, and consists of perishable entrées intended to be prepared in a field kitchen. The UGR-A is the only UGR withfrozen food, and thus requiresrefrigerationto store and prepare. The UGR-A has an offering of 7 breakfast menus and 14 lunch/dinner menus; each meal provides an average of 1,450 kcal. Each UGR-A module contains 50 meals, with each pallet holding 600 meals. UGR-A modules have a minimum shelf life of 9 months outside thecontiguous U.S.and 3 months within the contiguous U.S., at 80 °F (26.6 °C) for semi-perishable modules and 0 °F (-17.7 °C) for perishable modules.
TheUnitized Group Ration – A, Short Order(UGR-A SO) consists of meals intended to supplement the UGR-A and expand available food options or feed larger groups, especially where alternate dining facilities or existing meal options are unavailable. Most UGR-A SO meals are based onfast food,pub food, andfinger food. The UGR-A SO has the same kilocalorie amount, storage, and minimum shelf life as the regular UGR-A.
TheUnitized Group Ration – M(UGR-M), formerly theUnitized Group Ration – B(UGR-B), is the successor to the B-ration, and consists of packaged anddehydratedunprepared food intended to be assembled and prepared in a field kitchen. Designed to suit the needs of theU.S. Marine Corps, each UGR-M comes with ingredients that are primarily tailored toward specific recipes but could potentially be used to prepare other dishes. The UGR-M has an offering of 7 breakfast menus and 14 lunch/dinner menus; each meal provides an average of 1,300 kcal. Each UGR-M module contains 50 meals, with each pallet holding 400 meals. UGR-M modules have a minimum shelf life of 18 months at 80 °F (26.6 °C).
TheUnitized Group Ration – Express(UGR-EorUGR-Express), nicknamed the "kitchen in a carton", consists of meals inself-heatingsteam table trays based on the UGR-H&S meal offerings. The UGR-E is designed to provide hot meals where feeding a group with hot food would otherwise be unfeasible; unlike other UGRs, it uses aflameless ration heaterand does not require a separate field kitchen. The UGR-E begins heating with the pull of a tab, and can fully heat a meal within 30 to 45 minutes. The UGR-E has an offering of 4 breakfast menus, 8 lunch/dinner menus, and 1 holiday menu; each meal provides an average of 1,300 kcal. Each UGR-E module contains 18 meals, with each pallet holding 400 meals. UGR-E modules have a minimum shelf life of 18 months at 80 °F (26.6 °C).
The UGR comes in two menu variations: breakfast and lunch/dinner. Menus are intended to be cycled through regularly. They include both standardAmerican cuisineand diverse cuisines.The UGR-E also has a unique holiday menu variant.
UGR modules come with mandatory and optional meal supplements—namelyUHTmilk,cereal,bread,fruits,vegetables,salads,drink mixes, andcondiments—as well aseating utensils,kitchen utensils, disposablemess trays,cups,napkins, andtrash bags.
The menus below are adapted from lists available on the website of theDefense Logistics Agency(DLA). UGR menus are regularly modified to improve their variety, nutrition, and efficiency.As the DLA does not regularly publish UGR menus, the lists below use the 2020 menu for the UGR-H&S,2023 menu for the UGR-A,2014 menu for the UGR-M,and 2021 menu for the UGR-E.
Note that the lists below do not include milk, bread, fruit, or salad supplements, nor items standard to most UGRs such as regularcoffeeandhot sauce.
A variety of contractors are involved in the production, management, and distribution of UGRs and their contents, including (as of 2023) ABC Ventures, AmeriQual, Atlantic, Chef Minute Meals, Club Tex,Envision, Inc., Epic Foods,Gossner Foods,Hershey, HOIST, LC Industries, Nex-Xos, OhSix, Oregon Freeze Dry, Sterling Foods, Sopakco, Valley Foods, Werling Meats, and Wornick.More than 60,000 UGRs are produced each year.
UGRs are supplied by the DLA's Operational Rations Division. UGRs, like other rations, cannot be sold to individuals, and are only supplied or sold to the U.S. military, the DoD, the federal government, government employeecommissaries,government contractors(if their contract specifically permits such purchases), foreign governments with authorized contractual relationships, and civilians ashumanitarian aid.
American service members generally find UGRs to taste better than MREs.The UGR-E in particular was positively received, with the holiday menu singled out as "a morale booster" for soldiers otherwise unable to have properThanksgivingorChristmas dinnerson deployment.However, some items—namely egg dishes, as reported byStars and Stripesin 2005—are widely disliked due to poor taste.Some soldiers have also cautioned against mixing or switching between UGRs and MREs, which is said to causeconstipation.