(10 Sep 2004) SHOTLIST
1. Soldier prepares to cook meals on open fire
2. Fried food sizzling in pan
3. Soldiers adjusting fire and cooking meals
4. Close-up of campfire in hole in ground
5. Wide shot of of army encampment with campfire in foreground
6. Two soldiers in combat gear march through wood and stop to eat
7. Soldiers place packets of chicken curry and balti rice on small stove
8. Soldiers mix curry and rice together and eat
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Flight Officer Jos Wilson, Airborne assault unit:
"This is the chicken balti with rice. It's quite nice. It makes a change from the more stodgy food that we're used to in the ration packs."
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Corporal Gareth Saunders, Airborne assault unit:
"Times change. The old menu stuff like corned beef hash, the lads won't have had at home, like they would in the old days. But they will have had curry. It's something they're used to, their palate is agreeable to it. They will eat it, rather than try and hide it from me or bury it."
11. Contents of ration packs laid out on ground
12. Close-ups of packets of curry and rice
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Wing Commander Keith Willox, Military catering chief
"We're introducing a new range of menus to the British military ration pack. In particular we're introducing a range of dishes - some curries, chicken balti and a lamb curry - that are proving very popular with our troops. (Q Who could end up supplying this?) It could be anybody. At the moment we have two suppliers within the United Kingdom. However we have recently received samples from India and Singapore that we're interested in. So we are interested in broadening out the market. But we're most interested in high quality products, so we give our soldiers, sailors and airmen the very best in their ration packs."
14. Pull out from army cook to wide shot of soldiers in camp
STORYLINE
Companies from India and Singapore are bidding to supply Asian food to the British army.
The move follows a decision by British military chiefs to update the ration packs supplied to soldiers in the field.
They're developing dishes such as chicken curry and lamb balti.
Soldiers and airmen gathered at a military base on the edge of Salisbury Plain west of London on Wednesday to put the new ration packs to the test.
Jos Wilson and Gareth Saunders are members of 2 Squadron RAF Regiment - the airborne assault arm of the air force.
Wilson said curry made a welcome change from the usual fare, while Saunders said it would encourage his men to eat all the food in their ration packs instead of throwing away things they don't like.
The ration packs, which also include vegetable pate, crackers, biscuits, fruit and chocolate, are designed to deliver four-thousand calories a day, fuelling soldiers for the stress of operating in battle conditions - that's almost twice the amount recommended for civilians.
One of the military chiefs in charge of the project, Wing Commander Keith Willox of the Defence Catering Group, said they were talking to a number of suppliers, including companies in India and Singapore.
The new ration packs - known as Operational Ration Packs or ORPs - are intended to reflect what British people eat in the 21st century. A recent survey revealed that curry has replaced traditional meals such as fish and chips as Britain's favourite food.
The ORPs also reflect Britain's multicultural society and include a range of options, including halal and vegetarian.
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