Future warfare may include the use of chemical weapons. Soldiers will be required to wear protective masks which impose restrictions in the field of view of optical devices. Two studies were conducted to examine the use of M19 binoculars when soldiers must wear protective masks. Targets were displayed over an area 21 degrees high by 60 degrees wide. The time required to scan the area was recorded and a relationship was developed between scan time and field of view by means of a simple linear regression analysis. The studies show that the use of protective masks will have a significant impact on the soldier's ability to find targets.
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