A selection of pictures, made mostly in the 1970s and 1980s, from the archives of the United States Army's Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center near Boston. The centre is still at work, employing military personnel and civilian contractors to improve the daily lives — and the diets — of American soldiers. For the world's most formidable army, feeding the troops raises logistical, psychological and food-safety problems: bacteria is an enemy, supply lines are long, and the result is an unintentionally strange catalogue of rations, trays and experiments.