A good soldier knows how to mix and match and trade to create something he or she finds edible. At Bagram Airfield in Afghanistan, where Americans work side by side with troops from around the world, one might spot a Swede swapping cod stew for Canadian steak, or a British soldier trading lamb curry for German chocolate.
French MREs used to have such culinary cachet, Gilbertson says, that five American meals was considered a fair trade for just one. Venison pâté, biscuits, and caramels got old, however, and eventually American meals were more in demand.
Photographing MREs may seem like a straightforward task, but it required a great deal of coordination. Although U.S. and British meals are available for order online, some countries, such as Australia and Italy, are secretive about their indestructible military meals. Gilbertson eventually secured both, relying on the network of contacts hes developed covering war for years. In the case of the Australian MRE, he was helped by a general at the embassy in Canberra, and a box with barbecue beef and plum spread arrived at his studio in New York via diplomatic messenger.
What was the secret they didnt want him to learn? Its not clear. The only revelation he had after a post-shoot taste test was that Vegemite is nasty in any form. (Gilbertson is Australian himself, and has family ties to the inventors of Vegemite, so this, for him, is near sacrilege.)
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French MREs used to have such culinary cachet, Gilbertson says, that five American meals was considered a fair trade for just one. Venison pâté, biscuits, and caramels got old, however, and eventually American meals were more in demand.
Photographing MREs may seem like a straightforward task, but it required a great deal of coordination. Although U.S. and British meals are available for order online, some countries, such as Australia and Italy, are secretive about their indestructible military meals. Gilbertson eventually secured both, relying on the network of contacts hes developed covering war for years. In the case of the Australian MRE, he was helped by a general at the embassy in Canberra, and a box with barbecue beef and plum spread arrived at his studio in New York via diplomatic messenger.
What was the secret they didnt want him to learn? Its not clear. The only revelation he had after a post-shoot taste test was that Vegemite is nasty in any form. (Gilbertson is Australian himself, and has family ties to the inventors of Vegemite, so this, for him, is near sacrilege.)
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