As tension continues to mount in the Middle East, MTV News reporter Gideon Yago headed to a Marine training base in Quantico, Virginia, to prepare for the possibility of life under fire. Gideon will be sharing his experiences with MTVNews.com throughout his training.

Day 4 — Camp Barrett, Quantico Marine Base, Virginia

The first time I was ever tear-gassed was in Washington, D.C., during the IMF protest in April of 2000. I had made the mistake of filming a group of protestors who had shut down an intersection by lying on the ground with their arms linked just as D.C. riot police decided to rush the block and make arrests. I heard a pop and clang — the sound of a gas can landing in front of my feet. Taking a big, full whiff of the stuff, I tossed a few dry heaves, cried like a schoolgirl and then got myself back to normal in about five minutes. It wasn't the most pleasant experience I've ever had, but today I volunteered to do it again.

If there's one thing that'll snap the journalists here at "combat training" to attention it's the mention of a gas attack. Since weapons of mass destruction — specifically biological and chemical agents — are at the center of our current diplomatic crisis with Iraq, the conventional wisdom is that if Saddam Hussein has them, they are likely to get launched. For the reporters who will be stationed in places like Kuwait, Israel, Turkey, or embedded with troops, this puts them directly in the line of fire.

Photographs of chemical and biological weapons victims aren't pretty, and they're especially tough to take in after breakfast. But during our first class on NBC (nuclear/biological/chemical) gear, we got a gruesome show — blister agent victims, anthrax victims, a catalog of seared and ulcered skin, disfigured organs and other forms of human cruelty. I want to note two things before going on: first, the current U.S. policy of engagement is not to use biological weapons and to only use chemical weapons if the enemy uses them first. That said, it should also be noted that the United States aided in the chemical armament of Iraq during the Iran-Iraq war. Please take both of these facts at face value, and if you are interested in learning more about weapons of mass destruction, please cruise this section of MTVNews.com further.

This is what we learned: the tiniest, most minute exposure to many of these weapons will kill, leaving zero margin of error when using either a gas mask or more comprehensive equipment. To drive this point home, we hit the gas chamber. Suffice it to say, I saw my classmates ask more questions today than they had throughout the entire week.

According to our instructors, you have nine seconds to use a gas mask after you become exposed to a biological/chemical agent. It seems like a fair amount of time to get one of those things on your head, but consider the following: first, the gas has got to be detected (and many are odorless/colorless), then nine seconds isn't a hell of a lot of time to get a perfect gas seal on your face. The mask has got to be strapped tight — no stray hairs or loose ties getting in the way — and all gas in the mask must be cleared before you take your first breath. And you've got to do it all while holding your breath with your eyes closed.

The Marines here at Camp Barrett train in their gas chamber typically once a month so that they become 100 percent confident in the ability of their equipment. We were exposed to a fraction of the tear gas they normally train with, but it was still uncomfortable. We were filed into the chamber — a small brick house with tiny windows and exhaust fans — in groups of 12 with our masks on. The room was filled with tear gas, which caused the scrapes on my knuckles to tingle. Our instructor had us break the seal on our masks, letting a small amount of tear gas leak in. It was somewhat itchy but not unbearable — a few of the journalists did some head shaking and coughing. Then the masks came off and we did our nine-second drill. Suffice it to say if I were in an actual gas attack I would have bit it. Despite the fact that I had my mask in hand, I couldn't get it on right, and my instinct — under the ticking clock — was to open my eyes and adjust it. Whoops — I was crying inside the mask when I finally got it on.

Tomorrow I'll have a chance to redeem myself when we take our 5-mile comprehensive hike. It's a role-play exercise where we will combine all the skills we learned this week: identifying mines, responding to gunfire and gas attacks, etc. Thankfully those of us who made mistakes today did it in a consequence-free environment.

— Gideon Yago

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