There’s no sandwich like a tactical sandwich.

On our flight from Tampa to Kansas City on Monday, I took a few moments to peruse the brand-spanking new copy of Spirit, Southwest Airlines‘ in-flight magazine. A one-page article highlighted one of the more recent innovations on the military meal front. Are you a soldier on the go? A Marine on a mission with no time for a full-blown sit-down MRE with all the trimmings? Uncle Sam has thought of you, too, GI Joes and Janes!

SpiritMag.com: The Numbers – Barbecue Sandwiches

Basically, we’re talking about a pocket sandwich designed with packaging that – with proper storage – has a 2-3 year shelf life. Your mouth’s watering already, isn’t it?

After doing a little research, I discovered that in addition to the barbecue beef and chicken options cited in the article, there also are bacon cheddar and Italian sandwich variants, as well as something called “Pepperoni Stick.” Pass the Tums, please.

Having consumed my share of — we’ll just call them “prepared meals that have passed their freshness date” — in years past, I’m pretty sure I know what to expect after biting into one of these bad boys. Translation? I’m both leery and oddly curious at the prospect. MREs have improved by leaps and bounds since my day, so while I’m sure these new jobs might not represent the finest military dining experience, they’ll keep our boys and girls in uniform moving.

(Their bowels are a whole other story, though….)

And if they could come up with a variant featuring Gates sauce? I’m so there, dudes.

Any of my brothers and/or sisters in uniform who’ve eaten these things care to comment?