Today was CS Gas Chamber day, definitely an experience. It was somewhere around freezing temperatures when we had morning PT at 0500. Did I mention I hate the cold? Our transit to the field was scheduled for the same time as chow. So we had 4 minutes to eat, meaning no muffin for me today. We then took off to the field. We started off doing “Gas” raid drills for 2 hours and making sure the masks were sealed. We then filed into a cinderblock building about 35 at a time. Mine instantly let me know I had a small leak. It was bearable, like cutting up multiple onions at a time. About 5 DS were in the room with us making sure no one ran out. Then we had to break the seal or about 30 seconds, put it back on and clear the inside. I was still calm but the burning sensation started in my throat. My spot in line was right by the door so I thought I was golden…WRONG! The “Right face” command was given which means I was last now. They had us take our masks off, put them in the case, put on our helmets and buckle them, and wait it out for about two minutes. One guy tried making a run for it and one of the DS pinned him against the wall. Guys were spitting up, choking, coughing and dropping down all over. 60 seconds the stinging was strong, breathing was tough, nose and eyes running, but I was still calm and OK. Then it built up and I couldn’t clear my throat…it stacked up and I could barely gasp air, freshly shaved face burned like crazy. Then they opened the door and we filed out one by one…the fresh air was amazing. We had to flap like a bird walking in circles. Anyone who dumped equipment, overly freaked out, didn’t seal their gas mask bags; had to do it again. We had one go 3 times in a row for dropping his mask the first time and his weapon the second. Overall it taught us to trust our equipment and how to react in a chemical situation.
The rest of the day was rifle skill lessons. We phased to White phase so we get an hour call. That was nice. Our Senior DS chose a Platoon leader and Squad leaders. The Squad leaders chose team leaders and I was chosen as one. There was a mix up in our phone time so half the guys did not have their phones put up in time. Because of that, those guys get phone time cut in half next week, BUT all the leaders got our time cut to 15 minutes. We were just given the roles 10 minutes before phone time and already got the blame for “our” guys abusing phone privileges. That mistake won’t happen again.
Tomorrow is Sunday service. White phase means we can walk ourselves instead of a DS marching us. Chow should get a little longer (to 12-15 minutes) and no restricted shower time. It’s the little things that matter now days.
Long sleep tonight if no one screws up fireguard. Daylight savings time and Sunday sleep in until 0515 is the way to go.
Love y'all.
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