Masks?

 I have to laugh when I listen to all the young people whining and complaining about wearing a simple mask over their face to protect those around them from the Covid-19 virus. 

Maybe we should reinstate the draft.

On April 7, 1965, I got a letter from Lyndon B. Johnson ordering me to report to the induction center in Fresno, California to be conscripted into the U.S.Army.

In just a couple of days I found myself in Ft. Ord, California, with about 250 other guys my age, with brand new serial numbers proving you now belonged to the Government. Government Issue - GI.

After getting all new uniforms, fatigues, and boots, we were issued gas masks. They were worn on the right side of your waist on the belt, inside a canvas bag with a snap cover. They were black rubber, and covered all of your face, including the eyes, and had strong rubber straps across the back of your head to prevent any leaks on the front side around your face.

In the cheeks were filters made of activated charcoal, which would remove lethal gasses, at least for enough time to get away from the area. They were quite heavy and awkward to use, but seemed worth it to save your life.

We lined up in rows to practice putting them on fast, when the instructor yelled “GAS!” You were expected to have the mask on, cleared, and ready in nine seconds. 

We got to watch films of goats somewhere on a test range being gassed. As the seconds counted up at the bottom of the screen, the poor goats would start shaking and then fall down, kicking for a few seconds before they died. 

The instructor noted that those of us wearing glasses would probably die anyway, because the extra couple of seconds to rip those glasses off before the mask went on might mean the difference between life and death.

In another exercise, we got to put on our masks, enter a small room single file.and stand around the wall while they set off tear gas canisters in the middle of the room. It wasn’t just a test to see if there was a leak in the mask. 

After a couple of minutes, we were ordered to remove the masks and stow them in their bags on our waist. Then we stood around for a minute or two until we were coughing, gasping, and choking on the CS tear gas. Some lost their lunch, but you were not allowed to leave until you marched up to the officer at the door, saluted, and gave your name, rank, and serial number. Then you could go outside and suck in some clear air for awhile.

When all had passed the tear gas test (there was no flunk - if you didn’t do it right the first time, you got to go back in and do it again) we donned our masks again and got to crawl on our bellies under a net of barbed wire for about fifty yards, carrying our rifles. The barbed wire was on short poles about 16” off the ground; just high enough to crawl under if you stayed low and were slow and careful. You had to get through that course without losing your mask or getting your rifle dirty.

Later we went through the Assault Course at night, carrying our rifle on our elbows again, crawling under the barbed wire with live tracer rounds from a couple of machine guns going overhead about 30” up. Halfway through the course there were sandbag bunkers with explosive charges that felt like they would blow you over. We were warned to not climb into the bunkers for refuge. 

When we got to the end of the course we had our rifle inspected, and if you had any dirt in the barrel, you got to clean your weapon and go do the course again.

None of this will be news to those of my age who were drafted into the armed forces during the Vietnam era. Thousands were trained this way, and this was all before we got orders for our duty overseas.

I can’t imagine any veteran who got the same training we did to whine about how uncomfortable a simple cloth mask is.

Maybe we shouldn’t tell them they are to protect the people around them. 

We should just point out that those cloth masks are to defeat the computerized facial recognition software the government is using to spy on them.