The Type 38 Field Rations are a series shelf-stable meal kits used by the Star Army of Yamatai. They were introduced in YE 38 and are produced by Ketsurui Zaibatsu.

The price of a Type 38 Field Ration is nominally 15 KS, but they generally aren't sold to the public because they're made exclusively for the Star Army at this point. They are shipped in boxes of 10.

Prior to the Type 38 Field Rations, the Star Army used the overly complex Star Army Field Rations, Type 29, the Star Army Field Rations, Type 30, which were ready to eat but lacked a heater, and Star Army Field Rations, Type 31, which were simple dry rations which needed cooking but could be produced by civilian cottage industry. All had been produced in large numbers mostly during the Second Mishhuvurthyar War and the bulk of the stockpiles were starting to become aged.

In YE 38, the Kuvexian War began and the growing Star Army needed to replace and vastly increase its existing supplies. The Star Army determined that it would be best to introduce a new series of meals that were:

• ready to eat (no cooking required)
• ready to heat (containing a chemical flame-less ration heater)
• small and lightweight (avoiding large metal cans)
• simple and straightforward

By the end of the year, the Star Army introduced the new Type 38 field ration type, which was the first Star Army ration to contain a flameless ration heater (FRH).

Since its introduction, its portability has made it popular with the Star Army Rikugun.

In YE 43, the Star Army discontinued production of other, older ration types, leaving the Type 38 as the sole type of ration pack in use¹⁾ until YE 45 when the Komorebi Foods Individual Sustainment Field Ration was introduced to accommodate Norian needs after the Arrival of the Norians. Near the end of YE 45, Ketsurui Zaibatsu began adding desert packets to the Type 38 in a move to stay competitive²⁾.

The Type 38 Field Ration is simple, pocket-sized, and lightweight, consisting of:

• Outer Shell
• A tray
• Two boil-in-bag food packets (a meat and a grain/carb)
• A dessert packet (since YE 45.8)
• A packet of standard accessories
• A spork (black or brown)
• A flameless ration heater (FRH)

It notably does not include a dessert like the Type 30.

The ration is packed as follows:

1. FRH is slid into the back of the resealable outer shell bag
2. Grain packet is fit into the tray, followed by meat packet
3. dessert packet goes in one corner.
4. Spork placed diagonally into the tray (it is the only way it will fit)
5. Accessory pack placed on top
6. Tray slid into the bag and the resealable outer shell bag is zipped shut
7. A second, permanent seal prevents tampering. This must be torn off when the bag is used.

The outer shell of the Star Army Type 38 Field Ration consists of a basically square-shaped olive drab plastic zipper storage bag with black text on it. The bag has a zipper opening on one side. It has the Type 38 Star Army Hinomaru insignia on it followed by the printed text: STAR ARMY OF YAMATAI FIELD RATION, INDIVIDUAL, TYPE 38 Below this there's a silhouette of a spork. This is followed by the menu number and name, the Yamataian Calendar date and location of manufacture, for example: MENU 21: BLACK BEANS AND YELLOW RICE MFG 35日 9月 YE 38 CENTRAL UESUREYA, PLANET YAMATAI

Because it is resealable, the bag can be used for water storage or as an ice pack in a survival situation.

The food tray is square with rounded corners and surprisingly aesthetic looking. It is made of microwave-safe, dishwasher-safe plastic. Nice! It is typically black but based on the manufacturer it can be sometimes be green.

While the ration is stored, the tray provides some protection against damage to the food packets being squashed because the food packet rest inside of it. The trays are stackable and can actually be shipped back to Yamatai to clean and use in new rations, but they are often discarded in the field or washed and used by soldiers as personal organizers for things like Socks, batteries, and uniform insignia like rank pins.

The meat dish and the grain/carb dish each come in an olive drab vacuum-sealed packet. The diverse array of foods reflects the diversity of Yamataian cultures. The foods are designed to be shelf-stable and last a long time, with the goal being 10+ years shelf life.

No.	Meat Dish	Carb Dish
1	Salmon	gomoku rice3)
2	pacific saury in spicy sauce	crab fried rice
3	tuna	Star Army Kanpan crackers
4	bonito with curry sauce	white rice
5	Chicken yakitori	Sekihan (red rice)
6	Pork curry	Wild rice
7	Orange chicken	white rice
8	Hot dogs (beef)	Seasoned French fries
9	Country ham	blueberry cornbread
10	Tilapia	Garlic butter rice
11	Chicken And Hijiki	Wild rice
12	Turkey in gravy	Mashed sweet potatoes
13	Taco meat (ground beef)	Spanish rice
14	Chili (4 bean with ground beef)	Macaroni and Cheese
15	Burger (beef)	Bread and cheese spread packet
16	Beef and Barley Stew	Mashed potatoes
17	Pulled pork barbecue	cornbread
18	Pepperoni Pizza	panettone
19	Italian pork sausage in tomato basil sauce	Cheese Lasagna
20	Shrimp and sausage	Creamy cheese grits
21	Black beans (vegetarian menu)	Yellow rice

The Star Army is actively looking for feedback on the menus and plans to phase in new menus based on requests and phase out unpopular ones.

Starting in YE 45, the Type 38 ration started including dessert packages, which are added randomly. These can include:

• Chocolate bars
• Fruit cobblers (apple, blueberry, Lovefruit, peach, strawberry) in a pouch
• Pudding (banana, chocolate, strawberry, or vanilla)

The accessory packet found in Type 38 rations contains the following:

• 2 Paper napkins - one dark blue and one white. No one knows why they come in two colors.
• 2 Wet napkins, super useful for cleaning hands. Anti-bacterial.
• 2 Hard candies, one of which is always a mint (the other is typically fruity)
• A drink mix:
  • From YE 38 to YE 41, this was always 2 bags of tea, one of which is flavored (lemon, peach, etc) and 2 Sugar Packets
    • The green tea is really refreshing and soldiers will sometimes trade for it.
    • Sometimes the sugar is brown sugar.
  • After late YE 41, instant Coffee, Type 41, sometimes replaced the tea. Comes with a really enjoyable vanilla instant creamer/sweetener packet.

Star Army Instant Coffee Type 41 has a somewhat bold dark roast and sophisticated nutty flavor with no bitterness.

The spork is a strong black or brown plastic spork with 4 tines. It is dishwasher-safe and reusable.

The Flameless Ration Heater is a plastic bag containing a chemical compound that reacts with water to produce heat. The plastic bag has a small, detachable plastic baggie that serves as a measuring cup for the larger portion. The smaller bag must be removed to insert the food packets and water into the FRH. Heating the food takes 5 to 20 minutes and should be done in a well-ventilated area or outdoors.

Indoors, such as on a starship, an electric ration heater or a tub of very hot water should be used instead of the FRH.

To use the ration, place the two food packs into the heater bag, one on each side of the heater packet. Pour the specified amount of water into the heater bag and shake it around. Allow 15 minutes for the chemical reaction to heat the food. Afterwards, tear open the pouches and serve the food in the plastic tray, consuming it with the provided spork.

Alternatively, the ration food bags can be dipped into a pot of boiling water (using tongs) for a minute to heat them up.

Notes: In confined spaces where the FRH is not advisable, there is a battery-powered heater available from Star Army Logistics that can heat the food packets.

The least popular ration is the Hot Dogs and Seasoned French Fries menu, because instead of being crispy like fried food should be, they are sad, soggy, and only people who don't care about anything anymore eat them. However, they are secretly delicious if one crisps them over a hot gun barrel. The popularity of the ration in general went up in YE 45 when the desserts started appearing.

This section produces a random ration on each page load.

The ration you got is menu 21 with instant [[items:drinks:coffee]].

This article was written and maintained by Wes. This ration is somewhat inspired by the JSDF Type II Combat Ration and other real-world military rations. Special thanks to Youtuber Steve1989MREinfo for all the great videos on rations that help me get inspired to write fictional rations like this.

Basic artwork made by Wes.