I was in a field hospital not too far from the Kuwaiti border which during the war had several SCUDs hit nearby and air raid warnings almost every night during the war. You went EVERYWHERE with your gas mask and chem suit ready to put on. In the ORs we had our gas masks hung up where we could grab them in a moment. All the patients had gas masks at there "bedside" and the medical staff was practiced in being able to help them put them on.