Evening star., 1941-08-04
Soldiers 10 Try Out
Condensed Diet for
'BIitzkrieg' Troops
Compact Meal, Embodyine
Courage TobIets,' Con Be
Carried in Pocket
By FLETCHER WILSON.

MINNEAPOLIS, Aug. 4.-The
United States Army, too, has con-
densed ration for its blitzkrieg troops
-parachutists and fast moving
mechanical outfits.
Developed during the last year,
largely at the University of Mime
sofa here, the ration, packaged in
l2-ounce meals, will be given its first
actual trials by Fort Smelling soldiers
on a field trip today, tomorrow and
Wednesday.
1t. Col Rohland A. Isker, @. M.
c., chief of the Army subsistence
laboratory in Chicago, on his arrival
here to observe tests. revealed that
the concentrated diet combines the
contents of the German courage
tablets" with dried foods sufficient
to supply an active mans every
need, but compact enough for two
day supply to be carried in a para
chutist's shirt pockets.
A parachutist dropped behind an
enemy line or a tank pilot cut OH
from his fellows need only pull
package of pellets out OF his pocket,
add water from his canteen to some
of them and enjoy a meal.
Wait Comment of Troops.
The Army now hopes it has such
A satisfactory ration. 1t will know
when the field trials are completed,
when the men eating the food have
expressed themselves on it. and when
physical examinations have shown
the effect on the man.
Col. Isker and his aide, Capt. r. H.
MacDonnell, came to Minneapolis
this week end to watch the test. to
sample some of the shirt-pocket
dainties themselves and to confer
with DR.. Ancel Keys, professor OF
physiology in the University OF Min
nesota Medical School, upon whom
the Army relied for perfection OF
the ration.
They related that the diet partly
out of study of foods carried by
captured German soldiers, partly
out of experiments by the Army
Subsistence Laboratory, but came
mostly from the efforts of DR.. Keys
and his staff.
The principal German contribu-
ton was the courage tablets" These,
analyzed at the Mayo Clinic at
Rochester. Mimi. were found to be
pure dextrose, sugar prepared
from starch by chemical and heat
action. Accordingly, Dextrose tab
lets were included in the American
ration. but were improved by the
addition of a small amount of citric
(fruit) acid.
Pemmican for Breakfast.
The American diet refuses to be
ersatz. 1t is built up out of actual
condensed foods. Because the
United States has plenty of beef
and pork, dried meat can be pro-
vided to give animal protein instead
of depending, as the Germans do,
entirely on soy beans for vegetable
protein which is close approach
to an animal one.
Here is the condensed ration
menu for day:
Breakfast
Pemmican biscuit
Matted milk tablet, OF. veal loaf
Soluble coffee
Lunch
Pemmican biscuit
Dextrose tablets
1 OF. dried summer sausage
Lemonade powder
Lunch
Pemmican biscuit
Chocolate bar or ham spread
u OF. beef bouillon tube
The pemmican biscuit, named for
the dried buffalo meat carried by
Indians on long tricks, is prepared
from the whole wheat flour, white
flour, dried milk, soy -four, eggs and
carotin.
Although the Nazis supply their
mechanlzed troops with vitamin
tablets and instruct their field cooks
to add leaves from trees and certain
grasses to the diets, Col. Isker said
this form of pumping up concen-
trated foods will not be necessary in
the United States Army. Vitamin
tablets will be avoided unless ex-
perlence shows them to be useful.
Improves Night Vision.
The American diet is itself rich
In vltamin foods. The only A, B-1,
G and E concession made is the in
cluslon of carotin, the coloring mat
ter from carrots Carotin is rich
In vitamin A, which improves night
vision. 1t is placed in the diet in
recognition that most parachute
troop raids will be at night.
The field tests will start with 12
members of the Fort Smelling mill
tary police and an officer marching
of into rough country. At each
meal during the marches, Col. Isker.
Capt. Mcdonnell and DR.. Keys will
visit the soldiers incognito eat what
they eat and listen to what they
have to say.
If there is any cussing," the COL