TRACY, Calif. –
Defense Logistics Agency Distribution San Joaquin, California, employees started to pack, store and ship express rations in support of DLA Troop Support requirements in May 2023 at the DLA Distribution San Joaquin, California, installation. E-Rations, utilized by the Marine Corps and the Army, replace the need for kitchen equipment and allow warfighters to have a hot meal in any combat or training environment.
Danielle Hernandez, the Unitized Group Ration branch chief, discussed what makes E-rations so notable.
“E-rations are compact, self-contained modules that provides a complete hot meal for 18 personnel,” Hernandez said. “There is no need for a kitchen or any equipment. Units can set up in any environment, pull the heater tab and in about a half-hour, they will have a warm meal for their troops.”
The E-ration offers military units the ability to serve hot food without the need for a kitchen, equipment, cooks, fuel, or power. Similar to the individual serving that a Meals, Ready-to-Eat offer, this larger portion that feeds 18 comes with a heating tray that will heat the food in 30 to 45 minutes once the pull tab is activated.
E-rations are available in four different options for breakfast, eight different options for dinner and are shelf stable for up to 18 months at 80 degrees.
Each E-ration consists of an entrée/starch, vegetable, dessert, heating trays, drink mix, seasoning, dining trays, serving utensils and trash bags.
“When we’re building the E-rations, we put all the components together, starting with the heater trays and adding pull tabs. Then we add the entrees and place them inside a box with simple instructions showing the service member how to use an E-ration,” Hernandez said. “That box is then placed into a larger box that has the rest of the components like seasonings, dessert, drink mix, dining trays, utensils and trash bags.”
The UGR team builds the E-rations through an assembly line system, where every employee on the line is responsible for a specific component of the E-ration.
Once all the components are packed, the completed boxes are placed on a pallet and shrink-wrapped in preparation for shipment and storage.
The UGR team is tasked with building 10,000 E-rations every month.
“We are the only organization in the world that builds these for our troops,” Hernandez said. “After they are packed, they are stored in a temperature-controlled high-rise storing facility within the warehouse until they are shipped to the customer.”
The UGR team will continue to build UGR-M and Heat and Serve rations, both of which are larger, have more components, require a field kitchen and serve 50 personnel, in addition to the E-ration requirements.
“Our team has done a great job working together to meet this new mission,” Hernandez said.
DDJC will continue to shift and cultivate its capabilities to meet the mission and support the warfighter. DDJC is the Department of Defense's western strategic distribution platform, serving as a hub of logistics activities for America's Warfighter.