Protective gearImproved gas mask protects U.S. soldiers against lethal attacks
Choking. Watering eyes. Blistering skin. Convulsions. These are all symptoms of a chemical weapons attack that can lead to imminent death. The lethality of such attacks, most recently the one in Syria in August 2013, can send tremors across the globe. For U.S. Army soldiers, however, chemical weapons present a real danger on the battlefield, and one that requires the most advanced technology to keep them safe. Scientists and researchers at the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) have been working toward better protective equipment, including the iconic gas mask.
Choking. Watering eyes. Blistering skin. Convulsions. These are all symptoms of a chemical weapons attack that can lead to imminent death. The lethality of such attacks, most recently the one in Syria in August 2013, can send tremors across the globe. For U.S. Army soldiers, however, chemical weapons present a real danger on the battlefield, and one that requires the most advanced technology to keep them safe.
Scientists and researchers at the U.S. Army Edgewood Chemical Biological Center (ECBC) have been working toward better protective equipment, including its iconic gas mask. ECBC says that its engineers have now developed a better gas mask to meet evolving chemical and biological threats, and that the agency has fielded the next generation M50 mask to Army soldiers stationed in Japan and Korea. The Army is now in the process of fielding more than a million of these masks to all of the Armed Service branches.
“I noticed the difference between the M50 and the old M40 mask as soon as I put it on,” said Sgt. James Tuthill, a training NCO stationed at the Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina. “I train Marines to be prepared for chemical, biological and radiological hot zones, and this mask provides them with better visibility, easier breathing and greater comfort wearing it. And on top of all that, it just looks cool.”
Looking cool may give the mask some style points, but its improved functionality is what enable soldiers to keep calm under pressure and execute their missions. Instead of goggles and just one filter traditionally found on its predecessor, the M40 mask, the M50 mask has a wrap-around visor and symmetrical filters on each side. It also has a silicon and butyl face piece that is flexible enough to fit all face sizes from the second to the 98th percentile of the adult population. These design enhancements make breathing 50 percent easier than the legacy M40 mask. It costs $280 to manufacture the M50 mask, its filters, a mask carrier and a decontamination kit.
