19 Feb 20 Garand Picture of the Day

[BEAR]

I remember teaching about the atropine injectors to my company at Ft. Lewis in 1977. As part of my training aides I had an empty injector that I had loaded with water and re-cocked it. I had planned to use a small wooden board and use the injector to show the force it had to penetrate the board. As I was teaching the class I passed the injector around with the warning not to remove the cap. As the injector made its rounds and I continued with the class, there was a loud "CLICK" and a young PFC screamed and jumped to his feet with the now activated injector hanging from his thumb. The private next to him was also screaming that he was going to get "atropine poisoning". Apparently, the needle passed all the way through the PFCs thumb and nail and squirted its contents on the private next to him. The class collapsed in laughter. And I made my way to the squalling PFC, pulled the injector out and sent him to the medics for a band aid. The other private finally calmed down after I told him the injector only held water. It was probably the most interesting NBC class they ever had. That PFC would definitely be one the "Expendables".

BEAR