The Father of the MRE, By Nick Scurato

            The Modern Day Father of the MRE                                                  By: Nick Scurato                            

Photo of Dr. Abdul Rahman

 Dr. Abdul Rahman was born in Mosul, Iraq, where he considered his home until he graduated college. The Iraqi government agreed to let him further his studies in America on the condition that he return to Iraq and teach Food Sciences at a University. He completed his Masters degree at Utah State University and went for his Ph.D. at Oregon State University where he would also meet his future wife, Ethel.

Dr. Rahman and his wife, Ethel

 

Following his graduation at Oregon State, he and Ethel would move back, this time to Baghdad, where he would take a job as Professor of Food Sciences, as well as lead the University's agriculture program. Just as quickly as they got settled in Baghdad, they would unfortunately have to flee- now with a child (the first of five) in tow. Dr. Rahman and Ethel had to tell the Iraqi government officials he was working for that they were going on vacation to Egypt. This vacation would have no return date because once they grabbed all they had and left, they abandoned their home in Iraq and never came back. In Egypt, Ethel would visit the U.S Embassy and request that her family emigrate to the States. Dr. Abdul Rahman chose to leave Iraq with his family because he found out that a person could not have a job in the Iraqi government if they are married to a foreigner. Even though the government did not know at the time he was married to Ethel, who was an American citizen, Dr. Rahman was concerned they would soon find out and that they would not take the news with such open-mindedness. Between divorcing Ethel and working in Iraq or leaving Iraq and living with his family he would- without any doubt- choose the latter. In America, Dr. Rahman began research on what would be his major achievement- freeze dried food.

Dr. Rahman  at a conference on freeze dried food
(Seated at long table nearest to podium)

For over a decade, Dr. Rahman worked at Natick Labs in Massachusetts on a process to preserve and lighten the weight of edible food so that it can be carried out into space for astronauts. During the process, Dr. Rahman would let his youngest son and his nephew be the "guinea pigs" to try his freeze dried food attempts (https://www.stripes.com/lifestyle/mres-it-could-be-worse-and-it-was-1.77097). Not only would he help develop freeze dried foods, he would also design the MRE, or Meal, Ready to Eat. 

This is how the military, even today, can travel and carry a small, light portion of food with a long shelf-life. Following his accomplishments at Natick Labs, he would finish out his career working for the United Nations in the FAO (Food Agriculture Organization) program.

Dr. Rahman demonstrating MRE to US Army Generals

Dr. Abdul Rahman's experience stems much deeper than just an anecdote of someone's journey to his achievements. It shows there is a problem with Iraq's close-mindedness. The fact that Dr. Rahman had to abandon his scientific career in Iraq because of a marriage restriction, points out a troubling stagnation in advancement for Iraq. Iraq missed out on being the country to host the development of freeze-drying food and with the best military rations preparation to date. It is certain to say that this is not a unique scenario that in Iraq, similar situations are driving lawyers, scientists, promising politicians away from the country. America, on the other hand, is experiencing great scientific advancement because the U.S. has methods such as the H-1B visa that encourages intelligent foreigners to move in and conduct their experiments under the American flag. The story of Dr. Rahman's career can act as a wake-up call for Iraq to seek open-minded advancement. 

Dr. Rahman being recognized by US Military

Current MRE (Meal Ready to Eat) portion