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CBR Team Fits, Measures Wasp Sailors Prior to Deployment

Navy NewsStand

Story Number: NNS081108-23
Release Date: 11/8/2008 9:53:00 PM

By Mass Communication Specialist 1st Class Johnny Michael, USS Wasp Public Affairs

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (NNS) -- A nine-person Chemical, Biological and Radiological Defense (CBR-D) Readiness Improvement Program (RIP) team set up shop on board the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship USS Wasp (LHD 1) Oct. 27 – 31 to help prepare its Sailors to deploy.

The ship is wrapping up its eight-month Chief of Naval Operations-mandated scheduled maintenance period at Norfolk Naval Shipyard, in Portsmouth, Va.

The RIP team fit each Sailor for the appropriate sized CBR mask, demonstrated proper wear and then placed crew members in a wire-supported plastic bubble filled with various fumes during a 10-minute process to ensure the mask's seal was airtight. Sailors were instructed to conduct a number of exercises while inside the bubble such as moving their head side to side and up and down and rotating the jaw to simulate talking while wearing the mask.

Many of the Sailors had been issued the MCU-2P gas mask before but had not been personally fit and then tested by the TDA 99M, a respirator function machine designed to mimic the scents of various CBR agents.

"This is not my first mask," said Fire Controlman 3rd Class Derrick Lattimore. "Last time they measured my face and gave me a mask. Now, I know the mask I'm getting fits right and will work if I really need it."

The RIP's week-long endeavor on Wasp included not only the fitting of the masks but also the measuring of Sailors for Joint Service Lightweight Integration Suit Technology (JSLIST) suits. The JLIST is a lighter and less bulky suit than its predecessors, imposing less heat stress and reducing psychological and physiological burdens faced during extended wear.

Approximately seven weeks after the crew has been measured and fitted, the personalized equipment will arrive at the ship in the form of a bar-coded bag, specific to each Sailor. Each bag will contain not only the JLIST and MCU-2P but a number of items designed to keep Sailors safe in the event of a CBR attack.

Although the first week proved successful in recording information for the majority of Sailors currently aboard the warship, another week of fittings is scheduled to catch personnel who are TAD (temporary assigned duty) or on leave.

"We're getting great participation from the command," said Damage Controlman 1st Class (SW) Robert Pippens, Wasp RIP coordinator. "We're getting everyone that's here fitted."

In another two months a smaller RIP team will revisit Wasp to fit and measure any Sailors new to the command, ensuring maximum coverage for the ship's upcoming scheduled deployment.

For more news from USS Wasp, visit www.navy.mil/local/lhd1/.