November 2, 2008: British troops fighting in Afghanistan are doing so with far fewer amenities than they had when stationed in Iraq. There, they operated from large bases, with beds, good food, Internet access and so on. In Afghanistan, the combat troops are often out in the countryside for months at a time, operating from small, very temporary and primitive bases. It did take long for the officers to realize that the one thing the troops missed the most was decent food. Out in the hills, they were living on ration packs (similar to American MREs). But they also had the 10-man Ration Pack, which could be used like MREs, or, in the hands of a trained military cook (or chef, as they are called in the British Army), be prepared in a tastier fashion. The 10-man Ration Pack was meant to be used with limited kitchen equipment, but some of the military chefs were quite imaginative. So the army created a pocket sized, 62 page book containing the most successful of the recipes and preparation techniques that the best army chefs have developed. This has turned out to be a big boost for troops morale, at least for those stationed out in the hills of Afghanistan.