Avoiding a Second Hollow Force: The Case for Including Crew Endurance Factors in the Afloat Staffing Policies of the US Navy

In order to meet its obligations for prompt and sustained combat at sea, the US Navy relies on sailors to perform relentlessly while underway in highly stressful combat environments. The Navy currently uses an afloat staffing policy that is calculated using a 70-hour workweek per sailor metric. However, this construct fails to factor in an individual sailor's capacity to sustain performance and is based instead on a notional Navy standard workweek. Part of the inadequacy of the current staffing policy results from its failure to consider an inviolable and basic physiological requirement for adequate sleep and rest for sailors. Research indicates a strong causal relationship between sleep and performance. When deprived of sleep, either chronically or acutely, human performance suffers in a dramatic and predictable manner. These performance decrements have even been equated to the effects of alcohol. If the US Navy is to deliver the combat capability demanded by our government and stated in Navy governing documents, sleep and rest requirements must be accounted for in staffing methodologies. To achieve full combat capability, the Navy must change its culture and adopt programs that promote crew endurance. Human system integration can provide a means to accomplish this goal.