--- title: "This is why deployed Marines don’t eat Charms candy" description: "Everyone is just going to chuck Charms candy out the Humvee window, so it's just a gross waste of high-fructose corn syrup." date: "2022-09-03" modified: "2023-08-30" authors: - name: "Blake Stilwell" job_title: "Editor-In-Chief, Air Force Veteran" link: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/authors/blake/" url: "https://www.wearethemighty.com/popular/this-is-why-deployed-marines-dont-eat-charms-candy/" categories: - "Join the Military" - "Military Culture" --- # This is why deployed Marines don’t eat Charms candy ![charms]() They don't even put Charms in [MREs]() anymore. Because if everyone is just going to chuck the candy out the Humvee window, that's just a gross waste of high-fructose corn syrup. ![candy corn]() *And that is candy corn's job.* Those who aren't new to the service and have ever deployed with Marines probably saw the same scene at some point. Hungry Marines pour into their MREs and take out their favorite parts and toss the rest into the MRE box (a process known as ratf\*cking). Let's face it, some MRE parts are definitely better than others. ![wheat snack bread]() *Look, I like wheat snack bread, and I don't need jalapeno cheese spread to eat it.* No matter what an individual's tastes were, one item was always discarded: the Charms candy. The reason for that was a mixture of superstition and because the younger guys knew someone would slap the candy out of their hands or out of their mouths for the cardinal sin of even opening the wrapper. ![generation kill charms]() *The look you get when the smell of Charms fills the Humvee. (HBO)* The simplest answer is that Marines grow up in the Corps learning that Charms are just plain bad luck. Whether it was learned from saltier Marines or experienced firsthand, those things might as well be pure evil. Eating Charms is like begging for the world's largest thunderstorm to rain down on you and your platoon – even in the desert. Or they might set off a roadside bomb. Some think you'll get mortared just for opening an MRE with Charms in it – unless you bury it. ![army soldier]() *Some troops have been known to donate them to the more persistent local children – at high velocity. (U.S. Army photo by Spc. Grant Okubo)* The luck varied as much as the flavors did. As Sgt. Kenneth Wilson told [Agence France-Presse]() just before the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq, a lemon-flavored Charm could cause a vehicle breakdown. The green ones were the ones that brought the rain. Raspberry meant certain death. You might as well be eating apricots. ## Author Blake Stilwell is We Are The Mighty's Editor-in-Chief, covering military news, entertainment, and history, along with veteran education, employment and entrepreneurship. He is a former U.S. Air Force combat cameraman with degrees in Graphic Design, Television and Film, International Relations, Public Relations, Business Management and Middle Eastern Affairs. After leaving the military, he began working in film and television production in New York and Los Angeles, work that included ABC News, NBC Olympics, and HBO Sports. He then spent two years in Washington with White House Communications, before joining the Near East Foundation. At NEF he served as an International Development Fellow, then Communications Officer, and finally, Media Officer for the Middle East and Africa. Based in the Palestinian Territory, he coordinated strategic communications between eight country offices, international media, and government and NGO partners. He began a career focused on writing and editing in 2015 with We Are The Mighty. He left in 2019 for Military.com, but returned as Editor-in-Chief in 2025. Blake’s work has been seen on CBS News, Fox News, CBC, The Chicago Tribune, Task & Purpose, Military Times, Recoil, Skillset, American History, and was shockingly even used in a Supreme Court argument. He is an avid traveler and small business owner in Ohio, where he spends most of his energy fixing up a very old house. ### Author social links [Facebook]() [Twitter]() [Instagram]() [LinkedIn]()