Law Enforcement or Military: My Face Hurts … A LOT
Commentary
The week had been ramping up to this. All the prior training, all the talk, the boasting, and the detailed descriptions from my shipmates ran in endless loops in my head. I was next in line to get sprayed. The first guy just finished and was doing his best to breathe as they splashed the chemical from his face.
I stood at the “interview position,” hands clasped right over left on top of my belt buckle. I took two deep breaths, held the second one, and waited. The spray hit me on the forehead in two swipes, right to left, then back. At first, all I felt was the cold wet in the pale coastal Washington sun. I opened my eyes, and for the briefest moment, maybe two heartbeats felt nothing but liquid on my skin. I hope; the fleeting hope that maybe, just maybe, I’m one of the lucky few who don’t react at all to the [oleoresin capsicum, or “OC”] spray. I’m quickly disillusioned. The fire crawled down my face and into my eyes, taking the flesh with it. I forced them open to focus on my attacker. My priorities drastically changed….