Yokota Airmen conduct CBRN training at Camp Fuji

  • Published
  • By Yasuo Osakabe
  • 374th Airlift Wing public affairs
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan --  After a two-hour bus ride, Yokota Airmen arrived at Combined Arms Training Center Camp Fuji. Immediately after getting off the bus, a trainer yelled, “MOPP Level 2!” Airmen may have felt like they were back in Basic Military Training, but this Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear training course was established by Yokota’s 374th Civil Engineer Squadron Readiness and Emergency Management Flight.

“This training provides Airmen with an opportunity to familiarize themselves with their gas masks and builds confidence if they are ever in a situation, like a CBRN environment, in which they would need to utilize their masks, “said Capt. Philips Hellmers, 374th CES emergency management flight commander. “Also, we provide an opportunity for Airmen to refresh and hone their CBRN skills during the course.”

Yokota Airmen received a series of field classes including Unexploded Ordnance, causality collection, Self-Aid Buddy Care, individual team movement, run navigation, Post Attack Reconnaissance routes, and conducted a practical application exercise on a trail.

Down a trail in the middle of the Camp Fuji forest, Airmen traversed to meet CBRN specialists waiting by a green canvas tent. Far from a typical gas mask confidence chamber, the course fulfilled training requirements and familiarized the Airmen with combat readiness in a CBRN environment.

Before going through the gas mask confidence chamber, Airmen in Mission Oriented Protective Posture suits donned their gas masks and gloves. Lined along the green canvas wall, Airmen peered through their gas masks and anticipated the start the chamber.

A CBRN instructor put a tablet, O-Chlorobenzylidene Malononitrile, also known as CS gas, into a can. As a crystallized fog floated from the can inside of the tent, a CBRN instructor directed Airmen to move their bodies and heads to make them uncomfortable.

“Inside the gas mask confidence chamber, we had Airmen do six exercises,” said Senior Airman Ryan Hornyak, 374th CES emergency management journeyman. “All of the exercises will not compromise your gas mask, if properly fitted.”

At last, Airmen removed their gas masks and exposed their faces to the noxious fumes surrounding the tent.

“In the chamber, their skin feels like it is burning,” said Hornyak. “The importance of putting Airmen through the gas mask confidence chamber is to give Airmen a better understanding of how their (MOPP) gear works and to help build confidence in their gear, also that it will keep them safe in hazardous environment, if worn correctly.”

The chamber is a valuable resource of knowledge for Yokota Airmen because of the devastating impacts of chemical weapons and deadly agents, and their potential use by our enemies. The training is meant to stay with them for a lifetime and provide an unforgettable lesson.

“Getting gassed is something you’ll never forget,” said Staff Sgt. Justin Carnahan, 374th Airlift Wing Drug Testing Program Administrative manager. “It is binary; you know for sure when you are exposed to CS gas.”

More than a hundred years have passed since the beginning of chemical warfare. Courses like the one created by the 374th CE Squadron, provide training to match current threats and makes certain that Airmen have the advantage in a chemical environment.