Primarily implemented due to cost concerns, the selection of a heavy canned wet ration resulted in a severe weight penalty for troops marching on foot and forced to carry a multi-day supply of rations. The overuse of the canned wet ration reached an extreme during the Vietnam War, where American troops resorted to placing stacked ration cans in socks to save bulk and reduce noise on patrol, while their enemy increased their mobility by carrying lightweight rations of dry rice.Kearny, Cresson H. (Maj), Jungle Snafus...And Remedies, Oregon Institute (1996), pp. 286–287 The Quartermaster Branch's insistence on canned wet rations for all postwar field issue and the failure to develop a suitable lightweight dehydrated or other dry ration for jungle and other extreme environments led directly to the hurried development of the LRP ration or Long Range Patrol ration in 1966.Kearny, Cresson H. (Maj), Jungle Snafus...And Remedies, Oregon Institute (1996), pp. 286–288
