Trident: No More Beards @ Sea

[Ex-Dragoon]

Right now there are only one size of mask for the drager in the system right now and that's medium. There are no small or large masks for people who fit test for them. If you need something different than medium that's too bad for you. A bit of a oversight don't you think.

Was referring to the chemox.

 

[Stoker]

Was referring to the chemox.

Roger that my mistake.

 

[Navy_Blue]

The beard issue was a more serious one when we had the Chemox really.  The first types of SCBA were demand systems not positive pressure.  Because of the Chemoxs nature it was not a true positive pressure system.  Meaning that regardless of weather you have a seal or not the mask maintains enough pressure on your face to keep smoke and toxic gases out.  Pretty much every fire fighting organization in North America did away with demand type regulators decades ago.  I was shocked/Terrified joining the navy and realizing we used the Chemox.
With a beard you didn’t really have a proper fit and it made it even less safe.

Now with the Drager you have a much safer system but if you don’t get a good seal your regulator will bleed off air you would otherwise breathe.  This would take away the time you can stay on air in a fire.  I’m a volunteer fire fighter on my off time we can’t have beards either.

 

[RhumRunner]

I've witness a Coxn ordering a female sailor to shave her "beard" because she requested to be "Excused Duty Watch and FF duties while at sea and alongside". She complained that she couldn't get a seal with a CHEMOX mask because, and that was on her memo, of the extensive facial hair on her jawline caused by hormone replacement therapy medication prescribed to her by an MO for her premature menopause. No joke!

When the Navy started heading to the Gulf regularely, it was left to the CO to decide whether or not his sailors would be sproting beards. Some allow them as long as they were short trimmed and others just shorn the crew. But when they were coming home, the beards were back on. A couple of years ago, a MARGEN came out and officially passed the power to the CO. Some CO were shaving for operations purposes, others the whole time. On my last ship, we went from a CO that allowed beards except in operational theatre to one where beards were shaved off at all time. I guess it's a policy now.

Personally, I'm all for sporting a beard. Some of us are way to ugly to be bare-faced.

 

[PMedMoe]

Personally, I'm all for sporting a beard. Some of us are way to ugly to be bare-faced.

So when you suck in a quantity of noxious and possibly toxic fumes, you won't come crying to the CF for compensation, right?  :

 

[Port Lookout]

Wearing a beard was so 80s....
By the way this is my first time here so I'm testing.   

 

[kratz]

This week's formation newspaper in Esquimalt, Lookout on page 2, has a wonderful photo and story on the Navy preforming a burial at sea for sailor's loss of beards at sea. Attached to the story is the eulogy.