Ahhh time again for the infamous gas chamber requalification.

Our gas chamber cannot kill you but it can certainly make you miserable for about half an hour or in my case today a few hours.

In typical Marine Corps fashion we were told to show up at 0 Dark 30 so we can start getting everyone their gas masks and get in the chamber by 0700.  Finally, after sitting around in the cold and rain until 0900 we start to kick off today’s training evolution.

168 Marines ready to breath in some riot control gas and possibly toss their cookies.  As much as I loathe the chamber I do like to go in quickly just to get it over with.

It was awesome to watch the first group go through as a few had to leave early and puke their guts up.   Luckily for me I am more of a spitter then a puker when it comes to these 10 minutes of fun-time.

Now here is where the fun begins.  There must be about 50 of us right next to a few of the vents waiting.  Brain-children that we are we don’t even think about the gas coming out.  Well let’s just say it only takes about a minute for us to know our mistake.  We are not even in the chamber and already its burning us and we are coughing.  No need to wait for someone to give us the order to get our masks on we just do it.

Well, finally it’s my turn with 25 other jarheads.  Still with gas masks on, we walk in and stand around to ensure we can breathe properly with the mask.  We then shake our heads from side to side to see if our masks securely in place.  After a few calisthenics and the gas mask still securely fastened to my brain-housing-unit it appears like another easy chamber experience until I remember the final stage.  We each must break the seal on our masks and raise them high enough for the instructors to see our eyes.  After the instructors see every Marines eyes we can put the mask on.

Having faith in my fellow Marines to lift our mask as soon as the order is given I do so as quickly as possible.  Grrr let down again!  There was at least one knucklehead taking his good old time as I was their long enough to not be able to hold my breath any longer.  Awesome, now I am sucking in gas and losing faith in my fellow warriors.

Finally we get the order to put our masks on, tighten them up, and try to breathe again.  Sucked in too much this particular time so now I am just trying to hold my breath again until we are allowed to run like sissies out of the chamber.

Finally, we get the order to get out and I proceed to take off my mask so I can spit and cough for 15 minutes.  What a great way to start your day eh?  But seriously, it’s not all that bad.  I had a bad chest cold the week prior and any remnants I had left were now gone.  Later in the day I certainly felt my chest cold was completely gone.  Maybe this should be a part of a healthcare bill!?

Now, in case you are wondering why it affected me for hours here you go.  The gas stays on your clothes until you wash them in cold water or a few hours out in the wind.  Well lucky me got to drive two other Marines to and from the chamber so the three of us contaminated the car.  On the seats, steering wheel, seat belts, clothes, etc… it seemed like it was all over the place.  It was nice to suck it again driving back to my room.  Let’s just say the drive from Quantico to Washington DC seemed more like 60 miles then 30 miles.  Maybe this is why some call me a brilliant idiot.

Semper Fi,

GySgt Jonathan Jenkins

Popularity: 26% [?]

Trackback URI | Comments RSS