 | The examples and perspective in this article may not represent a worldwide view of the subject. (February 2022) |
A garrison ration (or mess ration for food rations of this type) is a type of military ration. Usually distinct from field rations, the term has varying meanings, but generally refers to either rations issued to personnel at a camp, installation, or other garrison; allowance (in the form of scrip or legal tender) allotted to personnel to purchase goods or rations sold in a garrison; the rations purchased with the aforementioned allowance; or a type of issued ration.[1][2][3][4]
In some instances, what determines a ration to be a garrison ration depends on situational context. For example, a 1941 United States Army Field Manual defines a "garrison ration" as rations purchased with allowance in peacetime, with a "field ration" being rations issued in wartime or other special circumstances at no cost to those distributing or receiving them.[3]
The term is often used in a historical context, but modern equivalents to garrison rations exist, though official use of the term in a present-day context is rare.
- ^ U.S. Department of War (1913). Field Service Regulations, United States Army, 1913. Washington, D.C.: U.S. Government Publishing Office. p. 132.
- ^ U.S. Army Quartermaster Corps (1941). Quartermaster Field Manual. U.S. Government Publishing Office. p. 46.
- ^ a b U.S. Department of War (23 July 1941). Basic Field Manual: Soldier's Handbook. U.S. Government Publishing Office.
- ^ Collins, Craig (28 October 2021). "Combat Nutrition: Feeding the Troops – Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow". Defense Media Network. Retrieved 2023-03-16.