Why Navy Sailors Train Inside A Tear Gas Chamber In Boot Camp

We got an inside look at how US Navy recruits are exposed to tear gas during basic training. Insider spent five days at Navy Recruit Training Command Great Lakes, where we observed recruits at various stages of their 10-week boot camp. During the fourth week of training, recruits learn how to properly don an M50 gas mask and are exposed to CS gas in the “Confidence Chamber”. While wearing a gas mask, the recruits watch as an instructor burns a CS capsule over a hot plate, filling the chamber with gas. Recruits then remove their masks completely and experience the full effects of tear gas. For the first time ever, our crew was allowed to film inside any branch or agency’s tear gas chamber, and in order to truly understand the effects of CS gas, Insider Chief Video Correspondent Graham Flanagan decided it was time to experience the Confidence Chamber himself…