Tear Gas

MommaFalcon22

MommaFalcon22

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Joined
Jul 2, 2018
Messages
41
Hi everyone. My DS is on the last leg at Jack’s Valley and his squadron did the tear gas training. I’m freaking a little because he appeared to be doubled over, most likely vomiting and seem to have an overall rough go of this portion of the BCT. Some kids appear to seem happy with thumbs up and smiles or only mildly irritated. How rare is severe reaction to this training? I’m wondering if something went wrong. Any insight would be appreciated.
 
I was once the senior Corpsman in the world's premier chemical/biological incident response force. We were routinely exposed to various irritants and simulates. CS and OC (it's not gas, it's a solid) is no more dangerous than the pepper I douse on my morning eggs. It just hurts more.

I went in a chamber once and the young Marine running it had no mask. He lit off the CS tab and sat in the middle while we went through our mask drills. He was no more bothered by the agent than if he were at the beach body boarding. I've been in irritant training with minimal effects and some where I thought my eyes were popping out. Your son will be just fine.
 
Devil Doc said:
I was once the senior Corpsman in the world's premier chemical/biological incident response force. We were routinely exposed to various irritants and simulates. CS and OC (it's not gas, it's a solid) is no more dangerous than the pepper I douse on my morning eggs. It just hurts more.

I went in a chamber once and the young Marine running it had no mask. He lit off the CS tab and sat in the middle while we went through our mask drills. He was no more bothered by the agent than if he were at the beach body boarding. I've been in irritant training with minimal effects and some where I thought my eyes were popping out. Your son will be just fine.
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Thank you so much for your response. It really did help to set my mind at ease. I’ve kind of been a basket case through this whole thing, and I’ve found that the people on this forum have been very helpful and have talked me off of several edges so far! Thanks again.
 
Yep. It sucks, for 10-30 minutes, then you are fine. Some people don't have strong reactions, which is odd. One of my old roommates challenged an exchange cadet to sing his national anthem in the tent. My roommate was coughing up a storm while that guy happy sang away :yllol:
 
raimius said:
Yep. It sucks, for 10-30 minutes, then you are fine. Some people don't have strong reactions, which is odd. One of my old roommates challenged an exchange cadet to sing his national anthem in the tent. My roommate was coughing up a storm while that guy happy sang away :yllol:
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Thank you! This helps me a great deal and allows me to put things in perspective. I’m very new to this whole game and I’m not sure what to expect but it is nice to get information from someone who has gone through it before.
 
FMHS-79 said:
It sucked at the time, but is one of the parts of BCT that I've heard my DS and other cadets laugh and kid each other about... in the big picture, this becomes one of the components that bind the USAFA graduates together.

Rest easy mom... they are in good hands.
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Thank you for the reply! This forum has been a lifesaver for me [emoji631][emoji1431][emoji173]️
 
You have to remember to not touch your face. If you remember nothing else, remember that tidbit.
It's not bad at all. CS never made me throw up, but it does burn a LOT when you inhale deeply.

A CS canister will melt right through styrofoam®, by the way. It's not from heat, it's the chemical components of it.
We used to test the quality of it by spraying it into a styrofoam® coffee cup. It would melt the bottom out, nearly instantaneously.
Imagine how effective it is on lungs!
 
I have one crazy son who went in TWICE. He barfed all over, and loved it. I did say CRAZY, right?

MommaFalcon, please, if you are going to worry about things like tear gas, quit looking at webguy. Your now-adult child is gonna be ok. It's not like they've spent weeks training your child to hurt him.
 
fencersmother said:
I have one crazy son who went in TWICE. He barfed all over, and loved it. I did say CRAZY, right?

MommaFalcon, please, if you are going to worry about things like tear gas, quit looking at webguy. Your now-adult child is gonna be ok. It's not like they've spent weeks training your child to hurt him.
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Thanks for the input! Twice?? Wow!! I’ll continue to worry, I don’t think parents (at least mom) ever have the ability to turn that off. Web guy can be a double-edged sword, but for the 99% of the time when I see great pictures of him looking strong and smiling with his new friends it gives me great peace of mind. It’s also part of a learning process for me. I know that he is going to be facing greater dangers and challenges than this and there is absolutely nothing I can do about it. This helps me learn to accept that.
 
Thanks to everyone who provided feedback support, I really appreciate the folks on this forum! Happy to report that new pictures are up and he’s giving a thumbs up all clear with a big smile at the gun range. Thanks again everyone!
 
THParent said:
I watched a guy put pepper spray on a taco and eat it, once.

Once.
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Walking back home with Buster, my nutty dog, I stopped to chat with a neighbor.

He gave me four peppers from his country. Nepal.

He said, they are really hot. I'm about to try one. I will not rub it in my eyes and nose.

If though this is my last act, it's been good knowing y'all and, God bless America.
 
Devil Doc said:
Walking back home with Buster, my nutty dog, I stopped to chat with a neighbor.

He gave me four peppers from his country. Nepal.

He said, they are really hot. I'm about to try one. I will not rub it in my eyes and nose.

If though this is my last act, it's been good knowing y'all and, God bless America.
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@Devil Doc, report please! You can type while you have your mouth filled with bread, rice or milk.

Though we have veered sharply off tear gas and MommaFalcon’s concern, I will hope that these are not the Nepalese Snakebite chilis, long skinny green or red bumpy peppers. I ate some in Hong Kong once during a port visit, was told they were some kind of green beans, during a festive dinner with shipmates. I could have beaten a Game of Thrones dragon’s best fire-breath. There’s also a milder small globe-shaped one.

As to military culture and lifestyle, for aspiring junior officers here, one of the best aspects of a military career is the broadening of your world view, and your experiences with other cultures/customs/foods/people. I would not trade the places I have been, even the armpits, for anything.

As to the tear gas thing, MommaFalcon can now be assured that her son is now confident he can handle exposure to gases like that, understand what’s happening, know he’ll get through it and retain his composure in a real-life situation. It’s training, training, training that allows military people to sort through what’s happening in volatile situations and come up with a course of action. To wit, Capt Sullenberger landing (not crashing) on the Hudson River. USAFA ‘73. Bet he did tear gas training, and in those days, parents were removed from images of that.
 
I'm here. I made it through the pepper eating experience.

It was the milder globe shaped one. Red. It was just slightly hotter than a Hornet's afterburner.

My last memory before passing out was my wife telling me to drink milk.
 
Ah... the gas chamber. Been through the experience lots of times. For those who haven't had the experience, you have no idea how much snot the human body can create! ;)

Capt MJ: I am hesitant to disagree with you and fully admit my view may be tainted by my cold war service but rather than learning to "handle gasses like that" I believe this training is meant to make sure the service member can properly don and clear a gas mask - especially important when facing more significant NBC materials.
 
USMCGrunt said:
Ah... the gas chamber. Been through the experience lots of times. For those who haven't had the experience, you have no idea how much snot the human body can create! ;)

Capt MJ: I am hesitant to disagree with you and fully admit my view may be tainted by my cold war service but rather than learning to "handle gasses like that" I believe this training is meant to make sure the service member can properly don and clear a gas mask - especially important when facing more significant NBC materials.
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Absolutely it’s a gear training exercise, that’s a given. Experiencing a survivable gas adds reality, in terms of “you better get the mask drill right, because there’s way worse stuff out there.”

Now we’ve probably ratcheted parental concerns back up by bringing the NBC stuff into the mental picture as one of the many threats down the road...
 
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