View Full Version : Information on Gas Chamber...
DevilDogsSon269
04-29-10, 10:15 PM
Good evening Marines,
I have been poking around on futurejarheads.web.com, and I read a good bit of information about the Marine Corps Recruit Training. Regardless of answer as I have to go through it at training anyways but, what is the Gas chamber like? What do recruits do in there? Finally, What gas is used in the chamber while recruits are presently being gased? Thank You.:bunny:
Lisa 23
04-29-10, 10:31 PM
Marine Corps Recruit Training - - The Gas Chamber
PARRIS ISLAND, S.C. -- Barely into their third week of training, dozens of nervous recruits file off from their squads into a Weapons and Field Training classroom and wait for the inevitable - the Gas Chamber.
In the classroom, the recruits are educated on how to use a gas mask and how it can save their lives on the battlefield if used properly and to help build their confidence about being in an environment with a potentially hazardous substance.
The gas used in the Gas Chamber is chlorobenzylidene malonitrile, or CS Gas, a non-lethal substance that is used in all branches of the military and police departments as a riot control agent.
Each recruit spends approximately 3-5 minutes, perhaps the longest 3-5 minutes of their life, in the chamber - depending on how well they want to cooperate.
The terrified recruits enter the Gas Chamber with their masks donned and clear, but once the doors are sealed, the masks come off. The first exercise they must execute is to break the seal of their mask, which will allow them to breathe in a little of the gas, but just as the tearing eyes and the coughing sets in, they are instructed to put their masks back on.
The next step is to break the seal again, but only this time, they will set the mask on top of their heads. It is at this time that some recruits feel that they have lost control and panic begins to set in. The recruits' eyes are now full of tears and the coughing gets worse because the gas is in their lungs.
The gas also burns the skin a little too, similar to a sunburn. Some of the recruits refuse to take off their masks because they see the other recruits' reaction to the gas and they fear that they will not be able to put their mask back on again. However, they quickly realize they will not be able to leave the smoke-filled room until they complete the exercise and they regain some of their sanity.
Once their masks are donned and cleared for a second time, they must then remove their masks completely and hold them straight out in front if them, but by this time, most of the recruits have a little more faith in their masks. They know that the faster they take them off, the quicker they will be able to put the masks back on and be able to breathe again.
Once this step is completed, they file out of the Gas Chamber with arms spread out to their sides. Their eyes water like they just stepped out of a shower, and they cough uncontrollably as they pray that they will never have to go through anything like that again.
Their fears are overcome and the recruits now believe in their gas mask and that it will protect them. For those with lingering fear, there is always next year when they will be required to do it again as part of their annual training.
http://usmilitary.about.com/od/marinejoin/a/usmcgasmask.htm
Try this site also......
http://www.marines.cc/content/view/33/33/
The gas chamber in boot camp is terrible. They gas the hell out of it as if you're staring through fog. If you get gas inhaled, you'll begin coughing like crazy. Your eyes and nose will leak fluid (if you are sick, it helps clear your sinuses). For me, I hated the gas chamber in boot and thought it'd be the same in the fleet, but fleet gas chamber is 100x easier.
Don't worry. Just get it done with, and enjoy. It's not that long of an experience. Good luck to you!
DevilDogsSon269
04-30-10, 04:57 AM
Thank you Marines. I wanted an experienced perspective on what its like and how it affects recruits in the chamber and the purpose of it. The Marines on this forum have definately shown this poolee what to expect.
I'll tell you this-don't rub your eyes for the rest of the day, even if you somehow get to wash your hands after the chamber. You will regret it like you've never regretted anything. You already know how I know.
sparkie
04-30-10, 07:10 AM
The gas just dosen't fade away, it stays on things. Your hands, clothes, boots. I once walked through a field of tall weeds and soon realized it had been gassed at some point in time. It wasn't fun.
Splash0341
04-30-10, 07:23 AM
Gas Chamber in Bootcamp is a haze fest! It totally rocks! you get to see how you will react to not being able to breathe and don and clear your mask with a lung full of CS gas and do fun little exrcises.
In the fleet they just do it to check your gear and its fitment. and you may do a 3k with MOPP 4 gear on easy **** dude
TinDragon
04-30-10, 07:38 AM
The worst part for me was actually being in the mask. Got a little claustrophobic and I couldn't see since I wore glasses and you can't wear them in the mask. The CS sucks too but like dizark said, it's 100x easier in the fleet. CBRN actually gave up caring so much at one point you probably could have just walked in without a mask and started breathing deeply.
TJR1070
04-30-10, 08:04 AM
We used to play "Chamber Chicken" for days off. After we were done with training for the day we used to see who could stay in the chamber the longest without a mask. The winner got the next day off, it's amazing what you can do with the proper motivation.
crazymjb
04-30-10, 10:56 AM
Gas chamber in boot was a joke. Yea there was a lot of gas in there, but all we had to do was break the seal. Big deal, hold your breath for 30 seconds. When we did it at my unit it was 100X worse. We took off our masks, everyone had the slime coming down their faces, etc, it was awesome.
Don't worry about it, its easy.
Mike
I had to go through 3 times in bootcamp.
First time, I went in, the mask wasn't functioning properly. I reported a problem, but they didn't believe me, so they had me going through some of the drills. They couldn't figure out why I was coughing my brains out when I had the mask on, so they eventually let me out.
Got a new mask and started all over again. This time I didn't control my breathing and got stuck in the horrible "cough cycle". (Once you cough really hard, you suck in wind to refill your lungs, which makes it worse, which makes you cough harder, etc, etc) I basically couldn't get enough oxygen, hyperventilated and passed out in the chamber. They dragged my sorry a$$ out of there and woke me up and told me to get ready to do it again. (which I was all for, no way was I going to let it beat me!)
Third time I went in, I made a conscious effort to remain calm and control my breathing. This time, they put me to the test to see if I'd crack. Questioning me without a mask on, ITing me without a mask on, you name it. I took it all and finished it up.
In short...it sucks. It sucks a lot. But it's not going to kill you. You'll make it through one way or the other, and when it's done, you will never EVER forget the smell of that stuff. Every now and then I'll get a whiff of it either on old surplus gear (it sticks to everything) or wandering near some hippies getting gassed in a protest or something and it will immediately take you back to that chamber.
Capital M
04-30-10, 01:43 PM
It's really something you have to experience for yourself. No one can really describe Joe you're going to feel when you get in there. Every person has a different experience. Mine sucked but it was no where near as bad as some like hanzo who had to go multiple times.
You can't prepare for it so it's better just to forget about it until that Monday
The worst part of the gas chamber is the class they give prior to going in.
Zulu 36
04-30-10, 02:45 PM
The worst part of the gas chamber is the class they give prior to going in.
Amen. I didn't care for the gas chamber in ITR (we didn't do in boot camp then). But it wasn't as bad out in the fleet. It got annoying having to go all of the time and taking your mask off so you would "have confidence it works." I know it works, I'm confident. But off it comes anyway.
CS "gas" is actually a fine particulate emitted by burning the CS material. Thus when it gets on you and your clothing, it stays until very thoroughly washed out.
DevilDogsSon269
04-30-10, 03:51 PM
Thanks for the information. Do we get to wash off at all after or wash our cammies? Or will it eventually fade?
Lisa 23
04-30-10, 04:15 PM
Nope....you keep on training. Eventually, you're cammies will get washed, and you'll be able to take your shower in the evening after all training is done for the day.
Thanks for the information. Do we get to wash off at all after or wash our cammies? Or will it eventually fade?
If I remember correctly, in boot camp when we got out of the chamber we got in formation and stripped to our PT gear then threw the cammies in a bag and put another set on. (You'll go almost everywhere in boot camp wearing a 2 day pack, so you'll always have room for an extra set of cammies or whatever else your DIs make you pack)
Lisa 23
04-30-10, 04:32 PM
The reason I said no is because when I went through the gas chamber, we didn't change, just kept on training. We walked in a big circle with our arms out for a bit. And if I'm not mistaken, we did the repelling tower afterwords.
I'm sure things have changed since I was in.
Capital M
04-30-10, 05:32 PM
Since the day is divided up by series ( i/e Lead series does the gas chamber in the morning while Follow did the rappel tower, and vice versa in the afternoon), Lead series didn't change their cammies. We ate lunch and went straight to the rappel tower. When we got back to that field outside the Page field RTF at the end of the day, Follow series was staged in their PT gear and boots.
They looked pretty funny practicing for initial drill in front of the Bn Sgt Major heh heh.
Anyways, Luck of the draw I guess
Kegler300
04-30-10, 05:57 PM
The gas chamber is actually fun. It'll clear up any sinus or allergy problems in a heart beat.
Hahaha, this is bringing back memories. Remember that initial burning you got when the mask made contact with your skin? Nothing REAL bad, but you could feel it even though you hadn't hit the gas yet, just from it being on the mask, and you just stood there thinking "if this is what it feels like from residue on the mask after its been washed, what will it be like inside??" Hahaha, good times.
Sorry if my story sounded horrendous, it really wasn't THAT bad. Its not fun, but its over with pretty quick.
thezero
04-30-10, 07:54 PM
You go through the chamber, we had to don and clear several times because one recruit was a ***** and wouldn't man up and do what he needed to do. We even PT'd a little so we had to breathe with our seals broken. It was horrible, but it wasn't that bad. After you are done you change into your sweats but when you get back to the squad bay you put on your CS'd cammies (at least we did), we didn't change them until we were told to, which was a few days later since we did laundry the day before.
TLove250
04-30-10, 09:16 PM
It was not as bad as I thought it would be. We had a recruit who wouldn't take off her mask, so we couldn't put ours back on until she did. I couldn't hold it any longer, waiting on her, and ended up taking very shallow breathes. Once I realized I wasn't dead all was well.
Komenko
04-30-10, 09:25 PM
whatever you do while inside the chamber, do not get all crazy and break a window that your kill hat is taunting you through! some boot did this and pulled his kill hat into the chamber and guess who had to go fix the window.......
<------- this Marine!
The worst part of the gas chamber is the class they give prior to going in.
haha, that class sure was boring. A fellow recruit took his canister and made the mistake of smelling it. He was dumping water on his face after... it was pretty funny to me.
DevilDogsSon269
05-02-10, 04:31 PM
Do they spray you down after or does the sting eventually just go away? I'm just curious about the details.
Komenko
05-02-10, 04:39 PM
Do they spray you down after or does the sting eventually just go away? I'm just curious about the details.
lmao no spray down. not much of a sting. more like an uncomfortable burn! its not that bad. dut its funny as hell when you see grown men bolt for the door. when i was stationed at Weapons and Field Training Battalion I did go through that same gas chamber when i was a recruit but this time i played it smart and blocked the hatch from anyone getting out. I had a good Laugh at my shop foreman cause she couldn't hang and she did not qualify! been giving her sh!t ever since and she's been out for 4 years now lol.
DevilDogsSon269
05-02-10, 05:09 PM
Okay Thanks Marines.
Squad Leaders Course...
We dummy corded everything. While doing room clearing training on an abandoned building the instructors gassed us. One individual was unable to don and clear before he really got a couple good lung fulls. (Is fulls a word?) He flung his gas mask down and took off running about 200 yards. Because his gas mask was dummy corded to the carrier it looked like a little black dog was chasing him all the way down the hill. Epic fail.
The gas chamber always made me burp. I think it was from coughing so much I swallowed a bunch of air. You will be trained before exposure. Do what you have been taught and you will be fine.
SlingerDun
05-03-10, 12:45 AM
It's not so miserable as an 'accidental' discharge of bear spray to the face YouTube shows dozens of dolts gettin popped, watch but don't try. The effects of one well placed blast can last a long...
WMarine,
You might be thinking of the combat-focused portion toward the end of bootcamp. If memory serves, recruits do gas chamber twice; once somewhere in one of the first two phases where its very much a haze fest with the purpose of teaching how the mask works, and then again toward the end (don't remember what it was called, but it was either during the Crucible...which I know WMarine didn't have back then...or the week right before the Crucible) which mostly serves as a culminating event with the intent to teach guys/gals to continue working after a gas attack. I remember repelling was right around the gas chamber...though maybe it was the confidence course.
CS gas is an irritant and it would take some pretty serious exposure to permanently injure a healthy young adult....probably almost impossible. I would google "CS Gas fatalities" or something like that, but I doubt you would find anything outside of an allergic reaction (Which I've never heard of).
In the Fleet, the gas chamber is mostly less severe than recruit training...or at least it seems so. It really depends when you go through the chamber and who is running it that day. I went through as a Sgt a couple years ago and was in the last group. The NBC guys had a crap load of CS tablets left so they just burned them all to get rid of them. We had to like karate-chop the CS fog to find our way around the chamber..it was pretty thick.
Some guys prob think its not as bad as BC b/c they are more used to it and do better with donning/clearing b/c they don't have DI's running around with video recorders slapping dudes in the mask and balls. Lol, good times.
Anyway, some people simply react worse than others to CS gas. The requirement is (and I could be wrong): you have to don your mask and do an op test. You line up with mask on, go into chamber and walk around until everyone is about shoulder to shoulder along all four sides of the wall. You shake your head in a no and then yes manner to ensure you have a proper seal (this is to test the functionality of your mask so you know its good in the event of a real chem weapon attack). Then you do some light calisthenics, prob jumping jacks, to double check seal. Then you have to break the seal and pull the mask to above your eye level while NBC guy walks around and checks that everyone has done this (bootcamp sucks b/c people freak out and won't take their mask off, or freak out and run out, so you have to have your mask above your head until that crap ceases...I swear, it sounded like a haunted house in there with people crying and whining...bunch of biotches, whinning and crying makes you inhale the gas pretty badly). Anyway, after everyone is checked out and good, you have to don your mask again then clear all the gas that got inside it. If you do it right, you should really only have to clear your mask three times (this will make sense after you get instruction on it) which takes like 15 or 20 seconds. Then the NBC guys will do some stuff to make sure everybody go their masks on and sealed correctly...maybe some more jumping jacks or whatever, then you file out and your done. All in all, its maybe like 3-5 minutes in the chamber with 30-60 seconds with no mask on....depending on how many tards are in their with you who freak the f out. In the fleet, pretty much no one freaks out...maybe one or two people in an entire company...so everything goes much more smoothly and quickly.
So don't freak out...it'll make things real bad for you and everyone else. With mask off, maybe try burst breathing....sharp, fast, shallow breaths....so don't inhale the crap into your lungs (some guys can hold their breath the entire time but I can not). You might learn burst breathing during Swim Qual.
Lisa 23
05-03-10, 10:09 AM
Hussaf, when I was in boot camp back in 1988, we only went through the gas chamber once, and we didn't have The Crucible either. I believe that part of training back then was called Basic Warrior Training. We did the whole Elliott's Beach hike, the NBC trail, pitched our shelter halves, night firing and so on.
When we came out of the gas chamber, arms were up and out to the sides...we looked like a bunch of planes ready for take off, lol...walked in a big circle to get our bearings, boogars and spit flying everywhere...lol! Some even got sick. We drank plenty of water, and then when all was OK with all of the recruits, we moved on in training. No change of clothes or anything like that.
Komenko
05-03-10, 08:42 PM
Hussaf, when I was in boot camp back in 1988, we only went through the gas chamber once, and we didn't have The Crucible either. I believe that part of training back then was called Basic Warrior Training. We did the whole Elliott's Beach hike, the NBC trail, pitched our shelter halves, night firing and so on.
When we came out of the gas chamber, arms were up and out to the sides...we looked like a bunch of planes ready for take off, lol...walked in a big circle to get our bearings, boogars and spit flying everywhere...lol! Some even got sick. We drank plenty of water, and then when all was OK with all of the recruits, we moved on in training. No change of clothes or anything like that.
pretty much how it was for me in 1997. the second year of the crucible. they were still working out the kinks then too. but i too only went in once. if you failed cause you were one of the punks that ran out of the chamber, then you had to go in a second time lol. get it done right the first time and you won't have to do it again for another year!
micarr57
05-03-10, 09:46 PM
it's a great time boogers and slobbers coming out of every orafice looked forward to it every year
3533MOTORT
05-04-10, 01:04 AM
If You Go Search For Usmc 31st Meu Gas Chamber Pictures On Google, You Will See Us Inside Of The Gas Chamber. You Get ****ty Gear In Boot, But Once Your Out It Aint Even Bad, We Were Crackin Jokes And Sittin In There Makin A Commercial For Afn (armed Forces Network). Its Easy, Relax And Youll Do Fine. Trick Is To Control Your Breathing Even When Excersising
Hussaf, when I was in boot camp back in 1988, we only went through the gas chamber once, and we didn't have The Crucible either. I believe that part of training back then was called Basic Warrior Training. We did the whole Elliott's Beach hike, the NBC trail, pitched our shelter halves, night firing and so on.
When we came out of the gas chamber, arms were up and out to the sides...we looked like a bunch of planes ready for take off, lol...walked in a big circle to get our bearings, boogars and spit flying everywhere...lol! Some even got sick. We drank plenty of water, and then when all was OK with all of the recruits, we moved on in training. No change of clothes or anything like that.
Yeah, what I'm thinking of is/was still called BWT...which we did just before Crucible. I figured you didn't have the Crucible (you were probably in during the grey pt sweats days?)...and I've also heard they got rid of the Crucible shortly after I graduated bootcamp (not sure about that one).
Was the NBC trail when you got gassed while hiking? That sounds familiar but I have no direct memory of doing something like that. I do remember going through some foliage that was previously gassed...and not liking it much...but I'm not sure if that was even in bootcamp...my first 4-5 years in the Corps is kind of a blur.
We do the hands out like an airplane thing. Its technically supposed to help expose the most surface area of your cammies to air to get that stuff off you, but it really only works for the first guy in line as everyone else gets gassed by the guy in front of them.
Lisa 23
05-04-10, 09:53 AM
I think we got the grey sweats when I was in boot camp, lol, although we never wore them....to hot from April to June.
The NBC trail...they didn't use real gas, just simulated that gas was being used. Had to do the dawn and clear with the gas mask.
The Crucible replaced BWT, and now takes place the week before graduation....it's how you EARN your Eagle Globe and Anchor to become a Marine!
Ok, just looked it up to ensure I'm not crazy!
So it looks like Phase three is A-line (like table 2/field firing), BWT (land nav, repel tower, gas chamber, some different o-course type evolutions)...this is where you eat MRE's for the first time (unless you do at range week?)..then head back for MCMAP test, final drill, final PFT, and final written test. Then crucible and finish up. Now, I've heard rumor that people are getting their MCMAP belt upon finishing the Crucible instead of the EGA, or some BS like that....that would suck! Not sure if they are still doing it. We got our EGA while in formation after the hump back from the Crucible (EGA ceremony, shower, then Warrior breakfast is all on the same morning, right?).
Lisa 23
05-04-10, 10:44 AM
Didn't have the MCMAP when I was in in 1988.
Here's a link for recruit training. It gives you an idea of what the training days are like.
http://www.mcrdpi.usmc.mil/training/index.asp
Thanks...I was going off Wikipedia and something called bootcamp.com or something like that.
I was like the third group to go through MCMAP when I was in bootcamp. I heard a few years later that guys got presented with their MCMAP belts after the Crucible. If you took MCMAP, you would understand how much less significant that is than the EGA. Not too many people take MCMAP seriously unless it is their MOS/AMOS to teach it. At best, people think its a fund and different way to PT...at worst it makes people think they are professional MMA fighters and they get really annoying with their TapOut sideways hats and Affliction tshirts! Sorry, venting.
Lisa 23
05-04-10, 05:09 PM
I'll have to ask my nephew when he got his MCMAP belt in boot camp. He was there June - August of last year.
crazymjb
05-05-10, 10:42 AM
We got our belts after the crucible 2 summers ago. The TAN belt program is a joke, and the tan belt test even more so, especially in boot when they only make you do like 1/4 of the moves. Even Grey belt is somewhat of a joke. That said, I'm not looking forward to green as I have no coordination, and even though I am a Marine, do not enjoy getting thrown on my ass all day.
Mike
We got our belts after the crucible 2 summers ago. The TAN belt program is a joke, and the tan belt test even more so, especially in boot when they only make you do like 1/4 of the moves. Even Grey belt is somewhat of a joke. That said, I'm not looking forward to green as I have no coordination, and even though I am a Marine, do not enjoy getting thrown on my ass all day.
Mike
They are all rather easy. Hardest part is remembering previous techniques. I think you have to do something like 15 previous techniques for brown belt...so the hard part is keeping up on all that crap. That and every instructor teaches things a little differently so hopefully you've done all your belt reqs with the same instructor/s
Being a Marine I sure hope you have at least some semblance of coordination!
Komenko
05-05-10, 08:07 PM
to go from Line training to MCMAP was a pain in the ass. basicly told us to forget everything we were tought in Line Training. I got up to grey belt and thats it.
crazymjb
05-05-10, 10:23 PM
Being a Marine I sure hope you have at least some semblance of coordination!
Negative. Drill waiver right here. Don't have any issue shooting though.
Mike
well that's what counts then, isn't it?
martinj
05-06-10, 11:10 PM
The gas chamber at bootcamp was nothing. They only used one or two tablets of CS. In BRC they would throw like five or six CS grenades at us while we were in our fighting holes without any gas masks or anything, we just had to sit there and take it. One grenade has the equivalent of 60 to 100 tablets in them.