Synopsis
Every army in NATO has its own field ration, commonly known as MREs (meals-ready-to-eat). While perhaps not the height of culinary expression, these rations give soldiers the calories they need to power through a hard day in the field. From Ally to Ally, their contents differ in small, interesting ways.
Watch a Canadian and Slovenian soldier swap their ration packs at NATO’s multinational battlegroup in Latvia. There’s a lot of beef on the menu, from jerky to goulash and ravioli, with some Tabasco sauce on offer for that extra heat!
The multinational battlegroup in Latvia is led by Canada and has troops from 10 other Allied countries, including Albania, Czechia, Iceland, Italy, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain. Our participants are Canadian Army Master Corporal Michael Vernon and Slovenian Army Private Teja Tropan.
Transcript
TRANSCRIPT (AUDIO AND TEXT ON SCREEN)
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“This is the first time.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“First time?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Yeah, trying Tabasco.”
TEXT ON SCREEN-
RATIONS SWAP
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Hi!”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Hey!”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“I have a gift for you.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Oh, me too.
I have a 24-hour Slovenian ration for you.”
GRAPHICS PTE TEJA TROPAN, Slovenian Armed Forces
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“I have one ration or one meal.”
GRAPHICS MCPL MICHAEL VERNON, Canadian Armed Forces
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Is it good?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“It’s fantastic. Yeah, I think you’re going to like it.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“So, the favourite thing to eat is the matches. We always start off eating the matches. No…It’s a bad joke.
So, we have…”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“I was like – what?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“What?
So, we have some matches. And we have…”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“What is this?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“This is beef jerky. It’s like dry…”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Oh my god! I never tried this.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“You never tried this? It’s barbecue-flavoured. So, it’s a good one.”
GRAPHICS BEEF JERKY
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“It’s not bad.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“It’s not bad? Yeah!
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“It’s spicy a little, maybe.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“That’s good. Spice is always good. Do you like spice?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Mmm, not too much.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Not too much? Okay.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“You can start with this one. I think you will like this.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Eat out of the pouch. Portion for one.”
GRAPHICS MUESLI
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“It’s good, right?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“It’s really good. In Canada, depending on where you’re from, it’s either “Enjoy your meal” or “Bon appétit”.
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“In Slovenia we say “Dober tek”.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Dobre tek.
For the main course we have…drumroll…we have beef ravioli.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Okay, it sounds good.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Yes!”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“The main dish here is beef goulash with pasta. See?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Yum!”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“And this is for lunch.
You first!”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Okay!”
GRAPHICS BEEF GOULASH
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Okay.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Wow!”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Do you like it?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“This is good.”
GRAPHICS BEEF RAVIOLI
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Mmm, a little spicy maybe.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“A little spicy? Oh yeah, you don’t like spice, right?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Not too much.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“So now you have to try the Tabasco.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“A little.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“A little?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Yeah.
This is first time.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“First time?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Yeah, trying Tabasco, so…”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Oh, really?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Yeah.”
GRAPHICS TABASCO SAUCE
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“I don’t like Tabasco.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“You don’t?
Some water here.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“No Tabasco.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“No Tabasco.
And which one is this again?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“This is a fish paté.
It’s better than it looks like.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“It’s better than it looks, okay.
Alright.”
GRAPHICS FISH PATÉ
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Okay.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“No?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Maybe I need the biscuit.
It is better with the biscuit.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Okay.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“It needs the biscuit.
Do you ever eat it without the biscuit?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“No.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“No? Okay.”
GRAPHICS PEANUT BUTTER AND JAM
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Okay.
It’s good. Of course. It’s peanut butter and jam, so…”
GRAPHICS VANILLA AND CHOCOLATE PUDDING
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Let’s see.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“What?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Wow. That’s good. It’s like a…”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Vanilla and chocolate.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Vanilla and chocolate but turns like in a pudding.
It’s like melted ice cream.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Kind of.”
GRAPHICS SLOVENIAN HONEY
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“The honey on my side of the world tastes different.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“It’s a Slovenian honey.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Slovenian honey.
Okay, it’s still good, but it has a different taste to it than I’m used to.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Better or?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“I’m used to my honey.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Ahh, okay.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“But it’s good. Like, if I had this, I’d still eat all the honey.
You know? For yours, the rations, I give it a nine or a ten.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Out of ten?”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“Ten out of ten.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“Oh, nice.
For your ration…I would give nine because of the Tabasco.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH - MCPL Michael Vernon, Canadian Armed Forces
“The Tabasco.”
SOUNDBITE IN ENGLISH – PTE Teja Tropan, Slovenian Armed Forces
“- Yeah.”
-END-
