FORT STEWART, Ga. -- Soldiers coughed from the trace of compound 2-chlorobenzalmalononitrile, referred to as CS gas, seeping from a nearby gas chamber. Their eyes began tearing and skin tingled as they waited for the signal to don their protective gear.
These Soldiers with 9th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division participated in a chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosive, or CBRNE, confidence chamber training Aug. 24-25 at Fort Stewart, Georgia.
"Honestly, no matter how many times I do this training I think I will always be a little nervous to go in the chamber," said Spc. Auquera Cross, a signal support systems specialist and retransmission team leader with Charlie Company, 9th BEB. "After you take your mask off, your body wants to panic. Your eyes start to water and you can't breathe. All you want to do is to get away."
Regular training events like this help Soldiers maintain confidence in their mission- oriented protective posture, or MOPP, gear. MOPP gear is the system of protective equipment, including face masks, gloves, over garments, footwear covers, and hood, used by Soldiers during a CBRNE threat.
"The capabilities of chemical and biological weapons are growing," said 1st Lt. Clifford Manani, platoon leader and officer in charge of the event with Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 9th BEB. "It is important for Soldiers to maintain their confidence in their equipment and also their ability to properly use it."
Soldiers scrambled to outfit themselves in their MOPP gear and ran away from the building after Sgt.1st Class Fredrica Smith, a CBRNE noncommissioned officer with HHC, 9th BEB yelled "gas, gas, gas."
"After completing the instructional half this morning, the Soldiers are now putting [the lessons] together and reacting to a chemical attack," Smith said. "We are here to assess how well they don their MOPP and react."
Soldiers lined up and prepared to enter the confidence chamber after being inspected by the events' instructors from HHC, 9th BEB.
"At some point while they are in [the chamber] they are taking off their mask and they will feel the effects of the gas in there," said Sgt. 1st Class Earl Bunn, a CBRNE noncommissioned officer and NCO in charge of the event with HHC, 9th BEB. "Once they leave the chamber, Soldiers know their equipment really works."
Although the training left the Soldiers' eyes temporally red and watery, the experience was positive, according to Cross and other participants.
"This training is important," Cross said. "It reassures me that I'll be prepared to use my gear when I need it."
"This training always proves how well equipment does work," said Spc. Mayra Planes, signal support systems specialist with C Co., 9th BEB. "It is all about knowing what you are doing and not letting yourself [overreact] or panic."
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