Providing food based on the unique needs of U-2 pilots falls under the purview of the Combat Feeding Division with the U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Soldier Center, or DEVCOM SC. This unit, through its specialists and scientists, has been developing and perfecting the food requirements for U-2 pilots for nearly 60 years. Its division chief of Combat Feeding, Erin Stomberg, states, “The Combat Feeding Division has a long history of developing nutritionally optimized, good-tasting ration products to meet warfighters’ unique needs and preferences.”
The result has been the creation of what is called tube food. Tube food consists of 5 oz, aluminum squeeze tubes, much like your toothpaste at home, with a particular food flavor. There are 19 flavors, providing a taste of home with selections ranging from pears and hash browns with bacon to apple pie with caffeine. These tubes can be warmed using a small heater in the U-2 cockpit if the pilot wishes to make selections such as apple pie taste even better. To eat (or drink) the pilot attaches a straw to the tube and then runs the straw through the sealed feeding port on his helmet.
