The M50 Joint Service General Purpose Mask is the United States armed forces

United States armed forces

The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. They consist of the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, and Coast Guard.The United States has a strong tradition of civilian control of the military...

 gas mask

Gas mask

A gas mask is a mask put on over the face to protect the wearer from inhaling airborne pollutants and toxic gases. The mask forms a sealed cover over the nose and mouth, but may also cover the eyes and other vulnerable soft tissues of the face. Some gas masks are also respirators, though the word...

, which began service in December 2009, replacing the M40 Field Protective Mask

M40 Field Protective Mask

The M40 Field Protective Mask is one of various gas masks used by the military of the United States and its allies to protect from field concentrations of chemical and biological agents, along with radiological fallout particles...

.

Description

The M50 is compact, light, comfortable and more effective as determined by the Defense Department Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense. The M50 allows for a wide field of view with a single lens that spans the width of the face. The M50 has twin conformal filters, which decreases breathing resistance by 50 percent. This protective mask provides 24 hours continuous eye-respiratory protection in nuclear

Nuclear warfare

Nuclear warfare, or atomic warfare, is a military conflict or political strategy in which nuclear weaponry is detonated on an opponent. Compared to conventional warfare, nuclear warfare can be vastly more destructive in range and extent of damage...

, biological

Biological warfare

Biological warfare is the use of biological toxins or infectious agents such as bacteria, viruses, and fungi with intent to kill or incapacitate humans, animals or plants as an act of war...

 and chemical

Chemical warfare

Chemical warfare involves using the toxic properties of chemical substances as weapons. This type of warfare is distinct from Nuclear warfare and Biological warfare, which together make up NBC, the military acronym for Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical...

(NBC) environments.