Posted on 07/09/2016 9:14:32 AM PDT by DUMBGRUNT
“Grunt” is illuminating and gross in equal measure. We are treated (if treated is the right word) to an entire chapter on how the military deals with diarrhea. As Ms. Roach points out, American troops often find themselves operating overseas, in lands foreign both to their minds and to their bowels. This presents some, well, challenges to the human body, and in one unforgettable scene she describes a Navy SEAL who soils himself on operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Ms. Roach goes on to cite William Osler’s observation that, over the centuries, dysentery “has been more fatal to soldiers than powder and shot.”... Ms. Roach’s penchant for the overlooked leads us near the end of the book to a chapter on sleep and its lack, which as any grunt can tell you is often a life-and-death concern. Here we learn that sleep-deprived people are cognitively indistinguishable from drunks, that Stonewall Jackson often led poorly when he hadn’t slept, and that dolphins only sleep with half of their brains. Operating without sleep is, as it turns out, a point of pride in the submarine force. The average night’s sleep in the force is four hours, and as one sailor explains: “Marines sitting around in a bar will tell you how many push-ups they can do. Aviators will tell you how many g’s they can take. Submariners will tell you how many hours they stayed up.”
(Excerpt) Read more at wsj.com ...
A book review of"Grunt". Reviewed by: Mr. Morris is a former Marine infantry officer and the author “The Evil Hours: A Biography of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.”
When I first started firefighting, I enjoyed the 24 hour shifts because it meant that I had a lot of time off. But after awhile the nature of the job changed on our department and at most stations one found themselves up most of the night. This lack of sleep several nights a week for years on end eventually causes health and stress problems. Despite my love for the job it was a relief to retire after 25 years. At this point I think that the lack of sleep is more damaging in the long run than the other hazards of the job.
Sleep deprivation torture !!!
Prolonged sleep deprivation is an especially insidious form of torture because it attacks the deep biological functions at the core of a person's... https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/dreaming-in-the-digital-age/201412/why-sleep-deprivation-is-torture
OK for you and Joe Swingshift, the cretins trying to kill us, we can't allow that!
"Port and Starboard" shift work can go on for weeks without a break.
8hrs on watch, 8hrs off.
Sometimes for 2-3 months at a time.
If in hostile waters or intense training, the off time can be interrupted with several GQ calls.
Then there can be 50,000lb jets landing and taking off from your roof, helicopters, gun drills etc.
While riding amphibs I've had many Marines ask "How do you do it?"
Don't get me wrong, Marines work hard. But usually for no more than a month at a time.
Of course they could go out on a 5 day patrol and sleep only 6-8hrs during the whole patrol.
My father was career Navy, he could sleep anywhere!
He said he could sleep standing in a corner, on a moving ship!
More like catnap, not a hard sleep.
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