Nutrition is a major contributor to the wound healing process in those who are injured, as well as influencing their subsequent recovery and rehabilitation. Appropriate food, in terms of both quality and quantity, and adequate hydration are required to ensure that the physical capacity and mental performance of military personnel remain at optimal levels. Without a regular supply of food and water, no army can hope, or expect to successfully prevail in its principal role: warfighting. Nutrition and the military are fundamentally entwined. The Ministry of Defence is currently undertaking research to address specific concerns related to nutrition as well as seeking to promote healthy eating in military personnel. A consensus is beginning to emerge from studies investigating the effects of nutritional interventions on how, what and when to feed patients with critical illness. Measuring and quantifying nutritional status during critical illness is difficult. Nutritional support is unable to prevent this, but can ameliorate the effects of the catabolic process. Severely wounded military personnel are likely to lose a significant amount of their muscle mass, in spite of the best medical care. The recently introduced Multi-Climate Ration has been developed specifically to deal with issues arising from Iraq and the current conflict in Afghanistan. In barracks, UK Armed Forces are currently fed according to the relatively new Pay As You Dine policy, which has attracted criticism from some quarters. Historical examples demonstrate that a failure to supply adequate nutrition to armies inevitably leads to disaster however, innovative measures to overcome difficulties in feeding reap benefits, and save lives. Food and nutrition are fundamental to military capability.

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