Photo By Lance Cpl. Michael Rogers | Recruits clean their M50 Field Protective Masks after exiting the gas chamber at Page...... read more read more
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PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. — The recruits of India Company, 3rd Recruit Training Battalion, were able to breathe a little easier after completing the gas chamber, Feb. 21.
The purpose of the training is to instruct the recruits with the proper use of the M50 field protective masks and give them hands-on training in a controlled environment, said Sgt. Christopher Proffit, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense instructor with the Field Training Unit at Page Field.
Recruits take a 45-minute class before entering the chamber. The class covers assembly and operation of the mask as and a brief history of filtration and gas masks.
“The biggest fear for recruits is the unknown,” Proffit said. “None of these recruits, save for the rare few, have ever encountered any training of this sort.”
“It’s like the fog of war,” said Pfc. Daniel Gaffin, a 19-year-old recruit from Winchester, Ohio, and Platoon 3025. “I don’t really know what to expect.”
Once inside the chamber, recruits feel an immediate burning sensation on any exposed skin. The only thing keeping the gas from their lungs is the mask.
They are told to perform several moves, such as jumping-jacks and shaking their head side to side, to show them the mask will stay sealed even in high-activity situations.
Recruits are then instructed to take a deep breath and force two fingers through the side of the mask. The tear gas begins working by burning their eyes, face, lungs and nose.
“They break the seal so they can learn in the controlled environment how to clear it,” Proffit said. “The worst things they can do are panic and take the mask off. But if they do it here, at least they will still be alive and can learn from the mistake.”
In February 2007, insurgents in Iraq used bombs containing large amounts of chlorine in multiple attacks, making the capability of using a mask a required skill.
In the real world, this skill can come to life or death, but at recruit training, it is just that – training. Instructors are on standby and keep this event controlled and safe.
For the final event, instructors circle the room and visually check that all recruits have broken their seals and then give the command to clear the mask and exit the chamber.
Coughing and gasping for air, the recruits rush from the chamber.
Their eyes are still watering as they run over to bins of water and begin to wash off their masks. Their eyes clear and they breath more easily now that it’s all over, and they are one step closer to earning their Eagle, Globe and Anchors.
“It wasn’t too bad. I do feel like I learned quite a lot,” Gaffin said. “I am confident that if I had too, I could easily do this in combat now.”
The possibility of having to use this valuable skill is very real, Proffit said.
| Date Taken: | 02.21.2012 |
| Date Posted: | 04.12.2012 12:16 |
| Story ID: | 86643 |
| Location: | PARRIS ISLAND, SOUTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 252 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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