WASHINGTON — Don Egolf remembers what Army chow looked like when he served in Germany in World War II: a tin of scrambled eggs and bacon bits that he pried open with a tiny can opener.

On Wednesday at the Pentagon, the 102nd Infantry Division vet pocketed one of those irksome little openers, the P-38, as a souvenir. Then he dug into the latest in combat cuisine, a plate of blackened catfish, teriyaki chicken, little french toast squares and pumpkin cake — no opener needed.

The Army offered up samples of the food as it rolled out its newest innovation: special packets of easy-to-eat, high-nutrition, high-calorie foods designed for mobile forces. The chow, mostly bagged finger-type foods that soldiers can tear open and eat on the run, will be available in the field next month.

That's not the way it was in his day, Egolf noted.

"When we did get to eat, we got K-rations," Egolf recalled, referring to the meals of dried biscuit, canned meat and eggs plus cigarettes that soldiers were issued during the early wars.

The new food "is delicious. This food is seasoned," said Egolf, who lives at the U.S. Soldiers' and Airmen's Home in Washington.

Spread out on tables along the Pentagon's third floor at lunch time, containers of garlic mashed potatoes, barbecue pork, beef and black beans, and Mediterranean chicken simmered as long lines of soldiers waited for a taste. Those new offerings will be available in MREs (meals ready to eat) over the next three years.

Other soldiers snatched up sample packages of jalapeno cashews, chocolate-covered coffee beans and the always popular beef jerky.

Fueling the Army's fighting forces long has been a subject of much research, as the military works to make the food more nutritious, easier to carry and better tasting. The Army knows that food and mail delivery have the biggest impact on soldiers' morale.

"When you're eating the same things, three times a day, taste and variety is a big thing," said Sgt. 1st Class James Laverty, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan with the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment. He said the food has changed even since his first tour in Afghanistan.

"It's the taste," he said. "Hands down, that is the number one thing I was impressed with."

The new food packet, called the First Strike Ration, is good for three meals, and includes about 3,000 calories — designed for soldiers moving hard and fast.

Inside are easy-to-eat, high-protein, high-carbohydrate foods that soldiers can chomp on the run, including a pepperoni pocket sandwich, bacon cheddar pocket, tuna, beef jerky, wheat bread, cheese spread, applesauce, several power bars and even a pack of caffeine gum.

"The last thing you want to do is give them something heavy to carry," said Jeremy Whitsitt, outreach coordinator for the Pentagon's combat feeding program. "They can eat these when they're on patrol or while they're marching down the road."