Airmen, guardians must complete gask mask seal tests before end of year

The Department of the Air Force is mandating that all airmen and guardians complete gas mask seal tests in an effort to align with new grooming standards.

By the end of the year, every airman and guardian, including Air National Guard and Air Force Reserve members, must complete two new Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear, or CBRN, defense requirements, a Department of the Air Force official told Military Times on Friday.

Earlier guidance circulated on the unofficial Air Force amn/nco/snco Facebook page directed that all service members complete protective mask training and validation. The guidance was intended to ensure that every airman and guardian could meet grooming standards while identifying those unable to achieve a visible protective mask seal.

Toward the end of July, the department released additional guidance on the CBRN Defense Program.

By Dec. 31, all airmen and guardians must complete both requirements, which will then transition to annual requirements for service members, the official said.

The requirements are to be completed in order, the official said. The first is the CBRN Defense Foundations Course, an annual web-based course taken through DAF e-Learning. The second is mask validation, or negative pressure check, completed in person with the unit mask fit validation monitor.

The changes align with Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth’s restrictions on facial hair and new grooming standards across the services, the official said. They also reinforce that “these skills are critical not only for defense against CBRN threats, but also for other hazardous mission sets where respiratory protection may be required.”

The news comes after the Marine Corps and Navy announced that their personnel, beginning at the end of August, are required to undergo annual gas mask fit training to partly “reinforce grooming compliance.”