intensely disliked by the Quartermaster Command, headed by Quartermaster General Edmund B. Gregory, whose organization had to procure, store, and ship it. To bolster their argument, Quartermaster Corps and Subsistence Branch staff heavily criticized the Mountain ration for its weight, although for its caloric content a day's ration was lighter than alternative canned C rations, and it had nearly more than the K ration. The Mountain ration was also criticized for its involved preparation times; the Mountain ration required heating, which was difficult to accomplish for ordinary infantry soldiers without individual or squad-level cooking stoves, though this did not affect mountain troops such as the 10th Mountain Division, who had such equipment. In common with the alpine troops of other countries, the 10th's officers recognized the distinct benefits of heated, easily digested foods at high altitudes. However, the noise and bulk of heating equipment and additional cooking utensils was disliked by some 10th Mountain troopers, who viewed the mountain ration as better suited to bivouac areas or mountain strongholds not subject to sudden enemy assault. Significantly, diagnosed cases of malnourishment and vitamin deficiency, which had been reported among other light infantry units of the U.S. Army in the ETO who had been forced to consume the K ration for extended periods of time, did not arise among troops of the 10th Mountain Division, who received a wider variety of food rations including the Mountain ration, K ration, C ration, and 10-in-1 group ration while in the field. By early 1943, less than three months after adoption, the Quartermaster Corps' Food Services Branch was already requesting the Army to abolish all non-standard lightweight individual rations except for the K and D rations. To the immense relief of the Quartermaster Corps's Food Services branch, the Mountain ration was discontinued and production terminated in 1943, though supplies continued to be issued well into 1944. The 10th Mountain Division, which was issued the ration while in training, did not deploy to combat until January 1945; in the last months of the war, with supplies of the Mountain ration exhausted, most of the 10th's troopers serving in combat were issued the K ration, the C ration, or the 10-in-1 ration. At war's end, after the shortcomings of the C ration (monotony and weight) and the K ration (malnourishment and vitamin deficiency) had become apparent, the Quartermaster Corps attempted to shift responsibility for individual ration inadequacies.