MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. (Sept. 13, 2012) -- MARINE CORPS AIR STATION NEW RIVER, N.C. (Sept. 13, 2012)— All Marines, throughout their Marine Corps career are required to undergo annual gas chamber qualifications, unless unable to do so per medical restrictions.
Marines have to sit through the classes on the proper donning and clearing of an M-50 gas mask. Through repetition, some Marines may have forgotten the importance of this training.
“(Nuclear Biological Chemical) warfare is one of the biggest threats out there,” said Cpl. Maxwell Carroll, chemical biological radiological nuclear defense clerk with Marine Aircraft Group 29. “With countries saying they have nuclear weapons and are testing them, there has never been a more important time for Marines to know this information.”
The use of chemical weapons dates from at least 423 B.C. when allies of Sparta used sulfur fumes during the Peloponnesian War. In World War I, German units released Chlorine and Mustard Gas which caused several thousand casualties and deaths at Ypres, Belgium. Some effects caused by chemical and biological agents include blistering, nausea and vomiting, and respiratory failure resulting in death according to information provided at www.marines.mil/unit/tecom/fmtbn-e/Pages/Student_Materials/FMSO Manual/Block 2/chemical.doc
‘They were using chemical munitions on their own people in Iraq,” said Lance Cpl. Jorge Aviles-Fines, CBRND clerk. “So we sat back and asked could they use it on us. That’s when our community became a pretty prominent feature in the Marine Corps.”
Even without screaming drill instructors in the faces of Marines, the gas chamber can still be a stressful situation for some Marines.
“We have guys who puke all the time,” said Carroll. “It doesn’t matter how long you’ve been working with the CS gas, I don’t know anyone who immune to its effects.”
Marines who are having trouble clearing their masks during the exercise have a set amount of time before an instructor steps in and helps them.
“They have 15 seconds to fix whatever problem with their gear they are having," said Aviles-Fines. “If they head for the door, we let them; regroup outside and see where something went wrong.”
At the end of the exercise, Marines either leave with another gas chamber qualification well done, or the sting of a lesson learned.
“In the end it’s about a Marines confidence in the gas mask,” said Carroll. “We are here to help instill that confidence by showing them they can shake their head, bend over, no matter what they do, that mask isn’t going to come off. We even have guys come back and say ‘Hey that was a great chamber.’ That’s what it’s all about.”