16 hr shifts were not uncommon to me
We only had 12’s at 4 on 3 off, 3 on 4 off.
USAF.
Working for the DoD in support of the Navy warfighter for 30+ years around active duty and veterans I heard my share of stories about living on a “boat” (their term not mine).
The word “comfortable”......never came up....ever.
A lot of these Sailors are putting in 20 hour days. Twelve to 14 hours at their workcenter and then go stand a watch.
The Navy has built newer ships with more automated systems for smaller crews but they cut back too much on the crew size. Now it's difficult to up the manning even if they wanted to because there isn't enough berthing space, food storage, galley seating, or potable water to accomodate larger crews.
My first two years in Germany were spent at Hahn AB. During AF alerts, I would be down in the hole for the duration of the alert, usually 4 days.
After the first one, I had my "alert bag" ready: 3 sets of fatigues, shaving kit, underwear, etc. I was one of two officers with the requisite clearance for entrance to the Wing CP. The other was the Battery Commander, he needed to be running the battery.
30 minutes into my first alert, it was made clear by the Wing Cdr that I would not leave...lol, I recommended a lower alert stance after the Wing Disaster Preparedness officer panicked during an NBC alert. After I gave my reasons for alarm yellow instead of alarm red, the Wing Cdr said, "I like that LT, alarm yellow," as the NATO Chief Evaluator was nodding his head.
15 minutes later, the Wing Cdr's voice boomed from the Eagles Nest, "as long as I'm in command, every time we get an NBC input, I want that Army Lieutenant up here."
I'd catch a couple of catnaps during the night, it was no big deal, I was 23 YO, used to pulling all nighters in college.
During training exercises, I rarely slept, that's just how it was. No way could I do that today.
It was a bit humorous to hear the zoomies griping about a 12 hour shift.