Bears find a buffet of battlefield rations at Alaska military base

Hungry bears broke into a storage room at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to feast on the military rations.

There’s an old military adage that an army runs on its stomach, meaning troops need to be well-supplied with food to survive harsh battlefield conditions. In modern times, the US military stockpiles “Meals Ready to Eat” (MREs), full meals that can be consumed with the convenience of just tearing open a bag, to sustain troops in the field. And in Alaska recently, MREs have found new fans: Hungry bears who broke into a storage room at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson to feast on the military rations. On October 28, personnel with the JBER – often pronounced, fittingly, as “J-Bear” – Wildlife Conservation Law Enforcement Office responded to reports of a bear in a storage room on base. Upon arriving at the scene, they found the room had been the site of a bruin snackfest, with a mess of open food packaging scattered about, according to a statement from the base. Images sent to CNN by the base showed open MREs strewn across the floor, though it is unclear what flavors they were. Bears apparently indulged their sweet tooth, too, with an open packet of M&Ms visible in the mess. But bear requirements and human ones are way different. An average human needs between 1,600 and 3,000 calories a day. A bear needs 10 times that amount.