Before and During Being Gassed

Chemical/MOPP procedures: On this day we reviewed the dangers of chemical weapons, what they do, how long we have to react, and how the military responds to this threat. It is another death by powerpoint, in class we learn "MOPP" procedures. MOPP is just an acronym for us putting on a chemical suit. When the a chemical attack occurs, you have 9 seconds to (don) put your mask on.

PROCEDURE: "Gas! Gas! Gas!" Take cover, close your eyes, take out your mask from a side pouch, fit it on your face, pull the straps over your head, check to make sure the you have a tight seal, and blow hard to make sure you breath. It can get a little more involved but that is the jest of it. That is called Donning the mask.

Here is a picture of John with his mask donned, he is good to go.

In a addition to the masks are the chemical suites, called MOPP gear. Obviously these take more than 9 seconds, so in certain conditions you are already wearing this. That way when the alert sounds all you have to is don your mask. These suits add about 10 degrees heat to our ABUs (uniform). Now imagine wearing this in a desert where it is 120 degrees!

Here are 2 of my flight-mates ready to be gassed

Here is me with my mask donned ready to enter the "chamber"

After the briefing they drove us out to a little shack in the middle of nowhere. Flight by flight we took our turn experiencing the effects of gas with our masks on. Your skin begins to get hot, and you feel a slight burning sensation. Then we take off our masks and get the full effect. Your eyes immediately start to burn and you squint. If you take shallow breaths then you can withstand the gas much longer. But to get the full effect we tried to inhale one large breath. The bold ones stayed in for about 7-10 seconds. Here is what happens when you inhale the gas. You start to choke, longer exposure leads to coughing and possibly gaging.