Disastrous Pin-Holes

August 19, 1990. The United Nations Coalition forces, led by the United States, were a short five months from enforcing the U. N. Resolutions against Iraq. Dressed in camouflage greens, I stood in line with nearly fifty other similarly clad Navy and Marine Corps personnel in front of the warehouse in Camp Pendleton, California. We milled about impatiently, waiting for the huge metal doors to open. We had received our "sea-bag" gear the day before: helmet, sleeping bag, poncho, canteens and various other pieces of equipment necessary to conduct daily living in the middle of the desert. Today we would receive our chemical-warfare protective gear: charcoal impregnated overgarments and gas mask with attached butyl rubber hood. Chemical weapons, which include mustard, nerve and choking agents, are dubbed the "poor man's nuclear weapons." These weapons can create large numbers of casualties for very low cost when compared to other weapons of mass destruction. Of the known chemical weapons in Iraq's arsenal, nerve agents caused the greatest concern among our forces because of its extreme lethality. A nerve gas droplet as minute as the size of a pin-head is sufficient to kill an unprotected person. "Check your gear carefully," the supply sergeant said as he handed each of us our gas mask and sealed plastic drab-green garment bag. "Make sure the garment bag is intact, and that your hood is free from holes." Holes? I threw a suspicious glance at the sergeant and looked at my bag, turning it upside down and around in my hands. It looked intact. Next I examined my mask and hood. Everything looked OK. Then I noticed the sergeant holding someone's hood up to the sun, inspecting it from the underside. When he shook his head and tossed it into an already half-full 50 gallon drum beside him, I looked back at my own hood, giving it much closer scrutiny. What at first appeared to be an intact butyl rubber hood, when held up to the light for closer examination, revealed scores of tiny holes no larger than...than...no larger than pin-heads. I wonder if there is not a close parallel between preparing for a "war of the flesh" and fighting a war "of the spirit." Among the items which comprise the Christian's armor (Ephesians 6), the Word of God is central. It is the very foundation of our defensive posture as we battle the wiles of Satan. It is our dominating offensive weapon with which we do spiritual battle. And it is holds the only message through which others might be brought into eternal safety.

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