One of the many unpleasant hazing rituals U.S. Army recruits are forced to endure during basic training. It consists of closed room into which CS tear gas is introduced. Recruits enter wearing their gas mask. Immediately, one begins to feel a slight burning on any exposed skin. Also in the room are instructors and drill sergeants, who give a short lecture on the dependability of the chemical warfare protective equipment the recruits are issued. Recruits are then required to demonstrate the proper procedure of clearing a gas mask by closing their eyes, holding their breath, removing the mask, replacing it, clearing it, and breathing normally again. Any recruit that fails this task will be immediately given away by his/her choking and gasping behavior. After this brief reliablilty demonstration, recruits are required to remove the mask with their eyes open, and try to breath normally. Eyes immediatly close involuntarily with stinging pain, and breathing turns to gasping, wheezing, and choking. Recruits feel as if they are dying. At this point most of them are heading for the exit, where they are greeted by a drill sergeant, who, while still wearing his own gas mask, stops them and forces them to answer a series of questions about themselves before being allowed out the door. By the time the safety of the outdoors is reached, opening the eyes is almost impossible, and the gasping recruits are covered in copious amounts of saliva and nasal discharge released by the tear gas. Some of them vomit. Anyone judged to be being a baby about the whole thing may be taken aside and forced to do pushups. All of this is ostensibly to demonstrate the reliabilty of the gas mask. It does accomplish this, but it makes one wonder why he/she is allowed to take the reliability of most equipment more or less for granted, while that of the gas mask must be demonstrated so painfully.