Marine cooks could be some mean SOB's, had a tradition of doing more with less, but also of being less than interested in criticism (likely because of doing more with less)...vicious circle. They also were expert riflemen, by and large, so go figure.
So, while the vast majority of the SOS in garrison was excellent, the vast majority of it in the field, being a Spam variation with powdered milk, was awful.
We called it "dit-dah" in the field. This was a shorthand reference to Morse code and the dots/dashes for the SOS signal. Some cooks took exception to the SOS reference. Not wanting to cause trouble, get shot, or be marked men in the mess tent, we ate it, and all the other Spam meals, with gusto. This was no small feat.
Often, we'd be on a NATO operation , generally funded by the US, and watched other NATO forces living large on the influx of US cash, eating well while we ate Spam 3x/day. I preferred C-rats.
Today, I will eat SOS, but a Pavlovian reflex has me looking for a restroom as soon as practical, so I can "put it behind me" and get on with the day.
Does that answer your question, sir?
(I have no doubt you relate to that!)
Originally Posted by
top506
I think this is just for the prior service folks here (who seem to be many).
My wife is in Boston with our elder daughter, my younger daughter is working and then off to the family of her young man, so I was on my own this afternoon.
I wrenched on a bunch of bikes, had a few Miller's (I'm a common guy) and dinnertime rolled around. I made a batch of creamed chipped beef on toast. Always loved it, even before it was served up at 0 dark thirty after a really nasty FTX. Is it me, or are there others out there who love their SOS?
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