Fatigue Management

Feeling tired has always been a common experience for the fighting soldier.
Modern warfare, increasingly characterised by Continuous and Sustained
Operations (SusOps), further increases the pressure on commanders to ignore
their own sleep needs and those of subordinates. Continuous Operations
(ConOps) are recurring, round-the-clock schedules, that last for extended
periods. They typically involve consistently high work intensity and are
broken into shifts. SusOps are often unplanned and involve nonstop
performance for uncertain periods (generally more than 24 hours) until
mission completion or until the unit becomes exhausted. During ConOps,
there should be regular sleep opportunities, albeit brief and fragmented,
while during SusOps there is little opportunity for unit stand down or for
soldiers to have more than a few minutes of sleep at any stage. Thus ConOps,
which attempt to ensure that sufficient personnel resources are available to
allow duty scheduling and adequate rest, are distinct from SusOps, which
emphasise mission achievement, possibly at the expense of severe
performance degradation. Of course, within ConOps, there are likely to be
periods of SusOps.
The Commander (3 BDE) highlighted the issue of his own
reduction in rest particularly during the early part of the
Operation. He highlighted the need for commanders at all
levels to be cognisant of the significant reduction on
decision making and performance of staff officers and
soldiers alike during continuous operations. He
highlighted that, in some cases, his own sleep patterns
were extremely disrupted and rarely exceeded three to four
hours during the late Sep/early Oct 99 period.
Land Operational Analysis Team,
Lessons and Impressions:
Operation WARDEN/Operation STABILISE, 2000
Technological innovations have allowed many problems related to weather,
darkness and equipment reliability to be overcome so that operations are
nonstop. The result is that humans are often the weakest link in operational
endurance. Fatigue can degrade operational effectiveness within a matter of
hours. After 72 hours without sleep, most military personnel will be
ineffective at any task. Round-the-clock operations, characterised by limited,
disrupted or lack of sleep, and high physical and mental demands, leave
soldiers and officers jaded and performing below par. Commanders must
consider sleep and fatigue management as critical elements of operational
planning. To do so, they must be well-informed about the physical and
psychological factors associated with sleep, sleep loss and fatigue.
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