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gas chamber in basic trainingn

  • 03-10-2012 7:37pm
    #1
    Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 308 ✭✭


    i have seen videos and heard stories of the gas chamber in basic military training and if you are allowed to tell me what is it exactly and what effect does it have on the person?????????


Comments

  • Closed Accounts Posts: 10,968 ✭✭✭✭Praetorian Saighdiuir


    i have seen videos and heard stories of the gas chamber in basic military training and if you are allowed to tell me what is it exactly and what effect does it have on the person?????????

    It's unpleasant. Are you in the DF?


  • Moderators, Society & Culture Moderators Posts: 16,641 Mod ✭✭✭✭Manic Moran


    In the US, at least, it's called the "Protective Mask Confidence Course", designed to give confidence to the troops that yes, that thing you wear actually will keep the nasty stuff out. You walk around, roll your head around, and so on, just to show that it stays in place. Then, to prove that there actually is an effect if you're not wearing it, you're encouraged to take off the mask, and take in an air sample... shortly before rapidly exiting the chamber (if you can see the door through the tears) whilst hopefully not drooling too much from the nose.

    NTM


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,500 ✭✭✭tac foley


    We simply call it the 'gas chamber' test.

    In the British Armed Forces the squad - maybe fifteen or twenty at a time - enter a small room in a bunker or suitably prepared location. The door is closed behind a member of the Directing Staff - DS - meanwhile everybody else goes through a series of exercises designed to get you breathing deeply whilst wearing the respirator.

    Did I mention that meanwhile a smaller version of a lachrymatory grenade has been set off in the middle of the group?

    After five minutes or so of the exercising, everybody is ordered to stand still, in the fog of the lachrymatory gas, in a rather cramped circle around the still-emitting grenade, and to remove their respirator.

    NOT encouraged, ordered.

    While you are standing there, eyes streaming and coughing violently, you are ordered, not encouraged or asked, but ordered, to give your regimental number and date of birth, usually in reverse order, before you are permitted to march, one by one, into the fresh air. The last one out is suffering, to say the least.

    This we do twice per year.

    Failure to do it correctly will simply mean that you get to do it again.

    Did I also mention that the British Army has eight digit regimental numbers for ORs but only six-figure numbers for officers? That's why officers get to do it twice - after half an hour or so to recover from the first time, of course - we don't want anybody suffering unnecessarily, do we?

    tac


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 308 ✭✭callum wallace


    benwavner wrote: »
    It's unpleasant. Are you in the DF?

    no i am not at all....i was just curious on it really


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,798 ✭✭✭Local-womanizer


    I seen a show on cadets in West Point where they took part in this exercise.

    When they exited the chamber they had to wave their arms around in small circles, any idea why?


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  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 5,500 ✭✭✭tac foley


    I seen a show on cadets in West Point where they took part in this exercise.

    When they exited the chamber they had to wave their arms around in small circles, any idea why?

    To help dissipate the gas.

    We used to do it every six months....everybody, from the top down.

    tac


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 3,798 ✭✭✭Local-womanizer


    tac foley wrote: »
    To help dissipate the gas.

    We used to do it every six months....everybody, from the top down.

    tac

    Cheers tac!

    I'd say it's a strange experience!


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 453 ✭✭earlytobed


    When I was in recruit training, we had to test our gas masks, 2 recruits at a time with an officer. You had to stay in a couple of minutes, take a breath, remove your mask and get out of the chamber.
    The chap who was in with me did it backwards. took off his mask and then took a breath in the chamber. He was in a bad way- tears, snot, drool simultaneously!!!


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 7,752 ✭✭✭pablomakaveli


    I thought it would be horrible before i done it for the first time. I took off my mask, rattled off my name, number, unit and felt surprisingly ok. My section commander and another training staff were just looking at me and said i might be partially immune to CS gas.

    Before i walked out they asked me to try taking a deep breath. I did and god i felt it then :D

    Its alright after standing outside in the breeze for a few minutes but god help you if you get your skin wet over the next few hours.:pac:


  • Closed Accounts Posts: 3,049 ✭✭✭discus


    Last time I did it, we did about 15 minutes of physical training in our CBRN suits... I knew why, but kept my mouth shut ;)

    Once we went in, we were hit with the effects right away - the gas made contact with our moist, sweaty skin, leaving us itching right away! We went ahead with the rest of the confidence drills, before the usual mask off, number name rank, and then a few deep breaths to prove our manhood. As pablomachiavelli stated, I too seemed to be immune, until a breath too many left me in **** state, running out the door of the chamber, through a bush or too and into a post on the pirbright running track. Man Test = Failed


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  • Closed Accounts Posts: 1,493 ✭✭✭long range shooter


    i have seen videos and heard stories of the gas chamber in basic military training and if you are allowed to tell me what is it exactly and what effect does it have on the person?????????

    Been there,done that.
    Part of the recruit training in most armies.
    Not very pleaseant,but atleast you know your gas mask is working or not:D


  • Registered Users, Registered Users 2 Posts: 4,777 ✭✭✭meathstevie


    Haha, a whiff of CS knocks spots of any decongestant spray or drops.


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