Joint Service General Purpose Mask M-50/M-51
The M50 series protective mask consisting of the M50 and M51 variants, officially known as the Joint Service General Purpose (JSGPM) is a lightweight, protective mask system consisting of the mask, a mask carrier, and additional accessories. It was adopted by the U.S. military in 2006 and is manufactured by Avon Rubber, the rubber-producing department of Avon protection. The mask was designed/made to incorporate the state-of-the-art technologies to protect United States Armed Forces and the allied forces from current and anticipated threats from all types of weapons of mass destruction. It is an above-the-neck, chemical-biological (CB) respirator that protects against battlefield concentrations of CB agents, toxins, toxic industrial materials and radioactive particulate matter. The M50/51 masks replace the M40 field protective mask and M42, MCU-2/P series masks and the M45 of the Land Warrior Program. There are two mask variants: M50 (ground and shipboard use) and M51 (ground vehicle use). History The M50 series mask entered service in December 2006. In July 2014, Avon Protection received a contract to supply 135,000 M50s for $33 million. In March 2016, it was announced that 166,623 M50s were purchased by the Department of Defense (DOD) under a $42 million contract. Description The M50