MARINE CORPS BASE HAWAII, KANEOHE BAY, Hawaii -- Ten at a time, they are ushered into a small brick room. It’s dark, and the only two windows are covered with a thick haze. The haze is that of o-Chlorobenzylidene Malononitrile, more commonly known as CS gas.
To the average person, the thought of being locked into a dark room, only to have it be filled with gas, seems like a pretty barbaric thing to do to a person. But to the average Marine, it’s all part of routine training and qualification they must take part in every year.
“It usually fluctuates every year — the number of Marines I have going through the chamber because of deployments and such,” said Sgt. Clinton C. Schwarz, Nuclear Biological Chemical instructor, Headquarters Battalion. “This year I have about 700 Marines going through.”
Schwarz has been teaching NBC training to Marines for seven years and has been qualifying Marines from Headquarters Battalion for almost two years.
The chamber is usually set to train Marines who are assigned to Headquarters Battalion twice a month on average. The goal is to qualify about 80 Marines each time, said Schwarz.
At the moment, Swartz is not only qualifying Headquarters Battalion Marines, he is also currently qualifying Marine Corps Air Facility and 3rd Radio Battalion Marines who are awaiting their NBC instructors.
During qualification, which can take up to four and one-half hours, Marines are taught NBC threats, reactions to NBC attacks, how to take care of and use a gas mask, how to don Mission-Oriented Protective Posture gear, and learn the process for decontamination, and other facts relating to NCB warfare, said Schwarz.
“The most difficult thing, I think, for the Marines, is paying attention to all the information I have to pass to them,” said the Nodine, Minn. native. “It’s hard, honestly, to hold their interest some of the time, so when it comes time for practical application, they can’t remember what they’re supposed to do, exactly.”
Once the Marines don their gas masks and MOPP gear, they are ready to go into the gas chamber. When ready, the Marines are sectioned off and enter the building in groups of 10.
Schwarz explained that the size of the chamber determines the amount of CS capsules that are burned for the qualification. For the chamber on Marine Corps Base Hawaii, Kaneohe Bay, it starts out with an initial six capsules. For each new group that goes through, one more capsule is added in order to keep the strength of the gas relatively the same for each group.
“I don’t really mind going through the gas chamber because it makes me trust the gear that I may have to use in a real situation one day,” said Lance Cpl. Jason A. Salas, military police, Headquarters Battalion. “That’s your life that you’re dealing with. I honestly just think we should have to stay in there longer.”
Once in the chamber, the Marines are instructed to do a various activities such as side-straddle hops and shake their heads back and forth to ensure their mask is properly secured. After performing that task, they must then break the seal on their gas mask and clear the mask before being allowed to exit.
“It’s good that we have the qualification, because it keeps the Marines’ minds refreshed when it comes to NBC defense,” said Schwarz. “Now if these Marines ever end up in a real-life NBC situation, their instructors in the field will have a base that they can build off of.”