Why no fuel in ration packs?

[AJB]

Sorry, but no! And as I had patented the idea, you owe me two million quid!

As it's my thread can I have 1% please?

And thanks Mikey - that's probably it and more or less what I thought - but how do they get the fuel into 'theatre'? Do all actions start 2 months earlier with ships full of hexy setting sail? Hexy and Gaffer!

 

[spamel]

I'm sure there is a way of getting feight loaded DAC on board legally although not totally sure. I know when I was deployed to the Democratic (ha!) Republic of Congo, we had loads of hexy, ammunition and the like flown in. It's all DAC at the end of the day! A landlocked country, so no chance of sailing it in, and it was in the north east so again no other way of getting it where it needed to be quickly other than by air. I think if the crates are still sealed then they can go on, but not opened crates or individual packets.

 

[deeps]

No Fuel????
You obviously havent tried burning the brown biscuits!!
They can burn for 24 hours and give enough heat to roast a pig at 20 yards.

.....and you don't need to waste time stopping for a crap for a fortnight....compo bungs you up,

 

[sandbag47]

.....and you don't need to waste time stopping for a crap for a fortnight....compo bungs you up,

tell me about it!!!!!!!

 

[ANDYRAF]

I'm sure there is a way of getting feight loaded DAC on board legally although not totally sure. I know when I was deployed to the Democratic (ha!) Republic of Congo, we had loads of hexy, ammunition and the like flown in. It's all DAC at the end of the day! A landlocked country, so no chance of sailing it in, and it was in the north east so again no other way of getting it where it needed to be quickly other than by air. I think if the crates are still sealed then they can go on, but not opened crates or individual packets.

They have to be sealed in a vacu-bag and then in another box with seals and stuff, It takes bl$%&y ages to do, and then has to pass the air movers test (dropped from 5 feet if still sealed it can then go on the herc).

 

[Mikey P]

I'm sure there is a way of getting feight loaded DAC on board legally although not totally sure. I know when I was deployed to the Democratic (ha!) Republic of Congo, we had loads of hexy, ammunition and the like flown in. It's all DAC at the end of the day! A landlocked country, so no chance of sailing it in, and it was in the north east so again no other way of getting it where it needed to be quickly other than by air. I think if the crates are still sealed then they can go on, but not opened crates or individual packets.

No - it's a nightmare, even on mil transport! As someone else has written, you have to pack them specially and then, as soon as you add one type of DAC to an ac, you start to become very limited in what else you can have on board.

Unless it's an S&D flight...but that's another story....

 

[crazydave]

officially hexamine is an explosive compound originally used in mines and torpedoes which could be why its not doled out willy nilly. plus you dont get issued packs or cookers every day. half the time we struggled to get enough and relied on old hoarded stock or doubling up. they are supposed to issue one pack a day and the cookers were only meant to be given out every third day. most of the time we only got half a pack a day as the required amounts didn't make it out to us.

the american mre heaters are okay for warming a meal but rubbish for anything else and there are lots of complaints about the lack of a heat tab now that trioxane isn't made anymore. mre's come with coffee mix but nothing to make it with so they now give out bags which you fill with water and put in a heater but it wont boil the water.

we used to save them up for quiet meals or bottle bombs when there was shortage of blue grenades during fibua or fish.

none of the crusader kit is general issue but the mugs are becoming commonplace and from what I hear the heaters are cropping up now.

I hated hexi as it was a bugger to light but they seem to have improved the binding agent now so they are less waxy and take a match better but crumble too much if you break them up - it could just be me though. I allways packed it for emergencies and still do.

 

[crazydave]

officially hexamine is an explosive compound originally used in mines and torpedoes which could be why its not doled out willy nilly. plus you dont get issued packs or cookers every day. half the time we struggled to get enough and relied on old hoarded stock or doubling up. they are supposed to issue one pack a day and the cookers were only meant to be given out every third day. most of the time we only got half a pack a day as the required amounts didn't make it out to us.

the american mre heaters are okay for warming a meal but rubbish for anything else and there are lots of complaints about the lack of a heat tab now that trioxane isn't made anymore. mre's come with coffee mix but nothing to make it with so they now give out bags which you fill with water and put in a heater but it wont boil the water.

we used to save them up for quiet meals or bottle bombs when there was shortage of blue grenades during fibua or fish.

none of the crusader kit is general issue but the mugs are becoming commonplace and from what I hear the heaters are cropping up now.

I hated hexi as it was a bugger to light but they seem to have improved the binding agent now so they are less waxy and take a match better but crumble too much if you break them up - it could just be me though. I allways packed it for emergencies and still do.

 

[crazydave]

there are very few rat packs which come with fuel - some like the french come with a folding stove for esbit style tablets

 

[Bob]

Just curious CD - what is FISH ? (I know what FIBUA is so am guessing that the FI means the same!)

Bob

 

[crazydave]

fighting in someones house

 

[phaserrifle]

hexi blocks are not packaged with the food in the rat packs, because they would contaminate the contents. my guess for why ethanol sachets are not packed is because the packs are still based on the old system when hexi blocks where used, and ethanol wasnot issued.

FISH - Fighting In Silly Hats?

 

[ANDYRAF]

FISH= Fighting in Swansea hospital.

 

[crazydave]

I've heard nothing about packing ethanol sachets from those I know who are still in the mob but I have sent meths out in the past along with the rest of my care packages.
another consideration counld be storage as hexi can be stored pretty much anywhere and doesn't leach out so there shouldn't be any contamination issue.

rations are cycled and disposed of often to civilian aid agencies in the case of short term humanitarian relief so due to the toxic fumes I cant see the army giving hexi out for use in a tarp shelter as its not pleasant

I spoke to a lad a few years back who was a storeman and he was complaining that they burnt 8000 rather than ship them back to the UK and they couldn't sell them off due to the new rules. if they'd been operational they could have given them away or swapped them for stuff they could sell for unit funds. my brothers bunch bought back a lorry full of mre's which wound up on german ebay.

 

[SMARTY]

I think the reason is a storage issue. Ration packs and heximine have different shelf lives. Also it allows flexability for issue of different fuels for different environments eg Arctic.

 

[sandbag47]

i just found some hexi's in my dads loft along with a load of army cadat stuff from 24 years ago and they still worked