Combat-Ready Pizza.

• Position: MILITARY - Brief article

It had to withstand floods and freezes, remain intact during a parachute drop, and stay fresh for three years without refrigeration. A combat-ready slice of pizza, a longtime dream of soldiers, is now being shipped to military bases worldwide after two decades of research. The new M.R.E. (Meal, Ready to Eat) is the handiwork of food scientists at an Army laboratory in Natick, Massachusetts. Soldiers rely on M.R.E.'s because they come in pouches and require no cooking. But troops have long complained about the bland flavor. Scientists created...