Making Coffee on Front Lines Gets Easier

Making Coffee on the Front Lines Gets Easier; Soldiers No Longer Have to Rinse Their Helmets

By DENISE LAVOIE
ABC News

NATICK, Mass. May 16, 2006 (AP)— Soldiers thirsting for a cup of coffee on the front lines of World War II could quickly heat up the beverage inside their "steel pot" helmets that served as both head protection and a handy container for campfire cooking.

That isn't an option for modern-day soldiers, whose Kevlar-fiber helmets can defend against bullets but don't work so well for fixing food.

So researchers at the Defense Department's Combat Feeding program in Natick cooked up another way for troops to make a hot cup of joe: A thick, resealable polyethelyene bag that can be used anywhere.

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