Yet another "anti-military" article from people who clearly don't understand the military.
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one Air Force doctor has found no direct scientific evidence to support it.
One doctor, out of all of em? Some anti-vaccine type of stupid right there
More than the amount of doctors who found direct scientific evidence ....
The guy wrote a paper about it and tried to find any evidence to support the new rules, he didn't find any.
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And to preempt an argument... "there's no study that says beards/razor bumps interfere with gas masks"... There are. Most of them say minimal beards/hair is fine (less than 1/16th of an inch) to get a mask seal, where 1/8 can already lead to issues. But it's understudied. The risk of getting it wrong is people's lives.
I was coming in here to disagree with you, because I've heard this same thing, but I won't argue a point unless I check my sources first, and sure enough, you're correct (except maybe that stubble is fine). OSHA even states that tight-fitting respirators are not to be used by those with facial hair that extends past/across the seal. So one could argue that if wearing a gas mask is a requirement, anybody who has facial hair (other than a trimmed moustache) is unable to fulfill that requirement by OSHA rules alone.
Yeah it wasn't an OSHA study that I was referencing...
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29283316
With military articles like https://taskandpurpose.com/news/military-beards-break-gas-mask-seal/ stating
The 2018 study showed that facial hair negatively influences the fit factor for half-face negative-pressure respirators as the hair gets longer and more dense. However, beard-wearers can still “achieve adequate fit factor scores even with substantial facial hair in the face seal area,” the study authors wrote. In fact, 98% of the study participants who had an eighth-inch of beard passed the fit test. Those results are encouraging because the respirators used in the study are pretty close to the M-50 gas masks used in the military today in terms of material and fit, Ritchie said.
So 2 out of 100 people using masks that are relatively similar to the military M50 would be at risk at 1/8th inch beard. Which is not a whole lot of hair... Like 3-4 days of growth (for me). 1/16 or less seemed to be 100% rates... But the big caveat here is that the fit-test doesn't adequately capture the rigor and activity that one might do in the military... So it seems logical that much more leakage will happen at every level.
But OSHA, ANSI, every branch of the DoD, and every study (though minimal) agrees with the fact that beard hair in of itself is a no go.
Example navy document... https://www.med.navy.mil/Portals/62/Documents/NMFA/NMCPHC/root/Industrial Hygiene/RESPIRATOR-SPECIAL-PROBLEMS.pdf?ver=Ng19UESJUtWmwvoHSABW-w%3D%3D There's a fun graph on table 2.
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from 2018 says there's problems with even really short lengths of beard...
You are making claims that weren't in the article. That studies conclusiion were
"Conclusion: Beard length and areal density negatively influence FF. However, tight-fitting half-face negative-pressure respirator fit tests can achieve adequate fit factor scores even with substantial facial hair in the face seal area."
Plus your original claim was that razor bumps would negatively impact the fit, not short length beards. You're moving the goalposts.
Plus your original claim was that razor bumps would negatively impact the fit, not short length beards. You’re moving the goalposts.
No it wasn't... but you go ahead and keep lying to yourself. You can scroll up and read it for yourself.
And to preempt an argument… “there’s no study that says beards/razor bumps interfere with gas masks”… There are. Most of them say minimal beards/hair is fine (less than 1/16th of an inch) to get a mask seal, where 1/8 can already lead to issues. But it’s understudied. The risk of getting it wrong is people’s lives.
Note that the quoted section is not "me" saying it, but a response to that general topic/discussion.
But we've already discussed this ad nauseam, so you can stop following me around now.
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You'd think we'd have masks that don't completely fail to do their job because you have .002 femtometers of hair sticking out of your face.
Fun fact, we have!
This is racist horseshit and refusal to equip soldiers properly. Or more accurately, Marines who I’d wish were a little more vocal about the blatant fascism these days
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Even if we did... getting and keeping whatever that device would be functional on a battlefield is a whole different ball-game...
War sucks...
Edit:
The easiest answer is a standard razor blade. It's easy, simple, and light (and reuseable if needed... as much as they're not really supposed to be). But that's what causes problems.The easiest answer for white guys with no razor burn.
Or we could invent SCBA and full face masks and stop pretending this was ever about NBC
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The easiest answer for white guys with no razor burn.
Or we could invent SCBA and full face masks and stop pretending this was ever about NBC
The m50 is a full face mask....
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Yeah you don't know
I guess when you fuckers start shooting, we'll see.
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Fun fact, we have!
This is racist horseshit and refusal to equip soldiers properly. Or more accurately, Marines who I’d wish were a little more vocal about the blatant fascism these days
I don't see anywhere where it says to be compatible with a beard. Also, it says it protects from sandblasting and asbestos. Tear gas and the like are a very diffefent beast and get through smaller openings.
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The m50 is a full face mask....
Clearly we need a full body mask, no need to seal against skin. Or even a full head mask that you tighten around your neck...
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You'd think we'd have masks that don't completely fail to do their job because you have .002 femtometers of hair sticking out of your face.
I'm just here trying to figure out how many hours does it take to grow your beard before you lose seal. Do you need to stop combat to shave every 12h? 6h? 1h? I need to know!
