October 1, 2020

"[A]n overhaul of the Army’s physical fitness training field manual... rebranded this week as the FM 7-22 Holistic Health and Fitness manual... has chapters on setting goals, visualizing success, 'spiritual readiness' and, yes, the art of the nap."

The NYT reports.
“Soldiers can use short, infrequent naps to restore wakefulness and promote performance,” the new manual advises. “When routinely available sleep time is difficult to predict, soldiers might take the longest nap possible as frequently as time is available.”...

To promote good sleep, the manual warns soldiers to avoid video games, texting and other screen activity before bed, and recommends winding down by “listening to soothing music, reading, or taking a warm shower or bath” instead. It also says to avoid alcohol before sleep....
 I didn't even know you could take a bath in the Army.  There are bathtubs?
During deployments in Iraq and Afghanistan, commanders often failed to prioritize sleep. Changing schedules, long duty shifts and overnight missions led to chronic fatigue that fueled a voracious dependency on energy drinks, which left many troops feeling frazzled....
The article discusses "feeling frazzled," but not suicide and PTSD. The mental problems of military personnel obviously extend to much more serious conditions than the feeling of frazzlement, but this article is trying to be a bit light, perhaps coaxing women into trying on the Army lifestyle:
The manual also has... a section on the importance of spirituality, with entries on meditation, journaling and how the “act of serving others” helps some soldiers realize the “interconnectedness of all things and people.”
The interconnectedness of all things and people — that would include the enemy. I'd like to hear more about how the realization of the interconnectedness of all things and people makes an effective military, but I'm not going to say it doesn't. It's never been my job to be prepared to do violence to my fellow human beings.

On the subject of making the Army woman-friendly, I must add that my mother was a WAC in WWII. I never heard my mother say one word against the Army, and I myself have the highest regard for the Army. I know for a fact that I wouldn't exist if it weren't for the Army, because that's where my parents met. I do have a wistful heart-twinge for the nonexistent offspring of the 2 marriages that would have happened if my mother and father had continued their young lives where they had grown up and gone to college. And that's enough journaling for me right now.

On the subject of feeling frazzled, I wondered where the word "frazzle" comes from. Is it a real word or slang? The OED marks it as "slang or colloquial (originally dialect)." What's it slang for? It comes from "fray" — what happens to the edges of a piece of cloth. "Fray" is used metaphorically to refer to human emotions, just like "frazzle," but "frazzle" sounds more nervous — something about those Zs, like "dazzle" and "sizzle" and "fizzle" and "drizzle."

55 comments:

holdfast said...

“When in doubt, rack out”.

The best time to take a nap is when you’re not doing anything else useful. It takes about a week at most in the Army to figure that out.

Best time for napping is in the back of an APC Or truck on a road march. The gentle thrum of the engine, the whiff of diesel exhaust leaking into the passenger compartment - it’s incredibly relaxing. Even today the smell of a diesel engine makes me sleepy.,

mikee said...

I recall back before the 1993 invasion to free Kuwait, CDS interviewed a group of Special Forces soldiers, undergoing an inspection. Their gear was laid out on ponchos in front of each soldier, enough destructive weaponry and explosives per man to destroy a city block or two.

The interviewer asked one soldier what the Army had taught him, that would allow him to succeed in his mission of freeing Kuwait from the Iraqis. The soldier very consciously looked down at all the shooty and splody goodness he'd be taking with him, looked back at the interviewer, and said, "The Army has given me training in very specialized interpersonal skills. These person-to-person skills will be used on the enemy to convince them to do what I want."

It was amazing that he kept a straight face.
It was a miracle none of the other soldiers broke up laughing.

Fernandinande said...

I'm so old that I can remember when the FM manuals showed you how to do useful stuff, like blow someone's hands off with a explosive-laden flashlight.

Unknown said...

Wow, that’s a very uncharitable read on that excerpt of Trump’s Minnesota speech. When I read that excerpt I thought it was pretty consistent with what Trump has been saying all along: Trump won the debate and will continue to dominate Biden because Biden is old and weak; Biden’s threat to cancel further debates is proof of what Trump is saying; the MSM is pushing these same Biden talking points, but we know this is a cynical position by MSM because we know they need the debates for ratings. I’m surprised you had such a strong reaction to this argument.

gilbar said...

soldiers might take the longest nap possible as frequently as time is available
i'm pretty sure, this was ALWAYS the rule; sleep, whenever, and where ever you can

I didn't even know you could take a bath in the Army. There are bathtubs?
you don't need a bathtub, to take a bath! that's what pails of water are for!
hell! that's what baby wipes are for!

Lawrence Person said...

There has to be a balance between carrying out high tempo operations that destroy the enemies ability to fight and a unit too tired to function. Wars that are won quickly save American lives. The U.S. army's tactics in Iraq (in 1991 and even more so in 2003) meant moving faster than the enemy could react, the classic blitzkrieg formula taken to new hieghts. This required high, sustained rates of operation. I'm pretty sure our troops would rather win and stay alive than be well-rested and dead. See Generation Kill for how American forces carried out constant uptempo operations.

I also trust their own commanders to know the breaking point of each unit better than any civilian commission.

Lucid-Ideas said...

Boy oh boy would it have been nice to hear such flowery accommodating language like 'frazzled' and 'nap' while I was going through sleep-deprivation training.

That sounds nice. Like fluffy kitten nice. I wonder if they'd be so kind as to pre-warm my duvet.

tcrosse said...

Never run when you can walk, never walk when you can stand, never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lay down, never lay down when you can sleep, and never pass a clean supply of drinking water.

Lucid-Ideas said...

"The interconnectedness of all things and people"

...but not the impact of an explosively formed penetrator with the driver's side of your Humvee.

Gotcha.

Lucid-Ideas said...

"We have met the enemy, and they were taking a nap, so we asked if we could snuggle. They are ours now, so get your own damned snuggle-buddy"

- Oliver Hazard Sleepy

narciso said...

it's like the python sketch about 'the modern british army'

Leland said...

The Army doesn't need to train recruits in "The art of the nap". It is well understood in the Army to nap when you get a chance.

Bob Smith said...

When I was in the Coast Guard I went to sleep on the engine cover of a 40 ft harbor patrol boat with two big diesels a few inches from my head. Even the seasoned Petty Officer boat captain was impressed. That was 60 years ago and I can still nap at will.

Gilbert Pinfold said...

My son is a cavalry platoon leader (Ranger-qualified, Air Assault, Parachutist, Pathfinder). For sure one thing he has learned is how to go to sleep instantly. Getting 2hrs/night in ranger school placed a premium on not waiting to get comfortable and clearing his mind. Amazing how he is "on", then "off" when home.

MikeR said...

Like other commenters said about naps. My father was a medical resident for a while and worked on a MASH unit in Korea; he could nap anywhere, anytime, it was a survival skill.

MikeR said...

Ah - I had wondered what Marianne Williamson was up to now that her campaign ended.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

I didn't even know you could take a bath in the Army. There are bathtubs?

Most people in the Army don't live in a barracks. There are more married people than single people in the Army. Married people or singles with children get base housing or, if that is full, subsidized housing off base. Also, single people sometimes get together and rent off base housing, but you have to get your 1st SGT or C.O.'s permission.

Fernandinande said...

Spritual: "relating to or affecting the human spirit or soul as opposed to material or physical things."

Two words were missing from this funny FM 7-22 document: witchcraft and magic(k).

Perhaps someone could translate this Newspeak:

"Spiritual readiness is addressed through the lens[sic] of the constitutionally-guaranteed right to participate or not to participate in any aspect of spiritual readiness, while at the same time educating religious and nonreligious leaders in their engagements with religious and nonreligious subordinates."

Does it mean "Spiritual readiness can be addressed through not participating in any aspect of spiritual readiness"? That sounds like magic.

"Many people who have little or no religious faith can still cope successfully with stress." LOL. Ya think?

This post has been approved by Gaia.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

Also, the need for sleep vs the requirements of the mission has always been an issue. Every leadership school I attended always stressed that soldiers need sleep but, training exercises lasting for three days might afford the possibility of getting 1 to 2 hours sleep each day. I sometimes wonder if lack of sleep for extended periods is a contributing factor to PTSD.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

I was in during the pre-energy drink era, so we just ate the instant coffee crystals from our MREs.

DanTheMan said...

Golden rule of deployment: Never pass up a chance to eat, sleep, shower, or go to the bathroom.

Larry J said...

Lessons learned in the Army:

Never pass up an opportunity to get some sleep, get something to eat, and to relieve yourself. You don't know when such an opportunity will come again.

The mission of the Army is to kill people and break their stuff. That mission comes before everything else.

Sam L. said...

Yes, all (ALL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!11111!!!!!) museums MUST BE DEMOLISHED !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111111111!!!!!!. "We are not worthy, and those guys are harshing our mellow."

dbp said...

"I didn't even know you could take a bath in the Army. There are bathtubs?"

I was in the Marines, not the Army, but there was one barracks I stayed in which had bathtubs. Right after the first Gulf War, my unit was deployed to Japan and the SGT's barracks had rooms for one or two and between each two rooms was a shared bathroom featuring a bathtub.

The rest of the many barracks I stayed in had only showers, either individual stalls or just a big room with shower heads around the perimeter and towers in the middle with 2-4 showers each.

AllenS said...

That ain't the Army that I was in. What the fuck?

Bob said...

Army FMs are not written to entice civilians (women) into the Army; NYT projection. If you're reading an FM then you are in the tribe

tcrosse said...

Fo' shizzle.

ga6 said...

This 60's era Marine giggles....

Roughcoat said...

Baths are for fags, nancy boys, and girls.

ga6 said...

MREs? What them? Real men used tiny can openers or K-bars and heat with gasoline mixed with mother earth. oh and try and avoid the ham and lima beans.

Ron Winkleheimer said...

my unit was deployed to Japan and the SGT's barracks had rooms for one or two and between each two rooms was a shared bathroom featuring a bathtub.

The barracks I lived in when I was stationed in Japan didn't have bathtubs, but they were way nicer than anything I ever lived in in the States. Or Korea. My understanding was that the barracks were so nice because the expectation was that at some point Japanese Self-Defense personnel would be living in them. Also, Uncle Sam was spending lots of money in the local economy so that the business leaders would be supportive towards the American military presence.

iowan2 said...

I never got the nap gene. It is common in rural culture to nap after dinner(the noon meal) 15 minutes, more, on less rushed days. I could never get in the grove. Still have rarely taken the ubiquitous Saturday/Sunday afternoon sleep. (except when nap is a euphemism for sex, then a nap is impossible to escape) I do however go to bed when tired and wake up when rested, so there's that. I kind of envy people that can come too after 15 minutes and feel refreshed, I feel groggy and lazy.

Charlie Currie said...

The only times I wasn't doing something useful was when I was in a vehicle that I wasn't driving, and as soon as it started moving I fell asleep. To this day I have trouble staying awake in a moving vehicle - I'm a lousy co-pilot/navigator.

DanTheMan said...

>>Real men used tiny can openers

Real men say "P38". :)



mikee said...

DanTheMan stated the truth: Sleep, eat, crap, whenever possible. You never know when or if you will be able to do so again.

It used to be said that there was no need to train soldiers to be uncomfortable, exhausted, hungry and covered in filth. That was their standard situation. Lest we all forget, being comfortable is a luxury, as is being well rested, well fed, and clean.

NKP said...
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NKP said...
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NKP said...

Who produced the new manual? At whose direction? Who signed off on the finished product?

If the President thinks forced re-education and thinking about race, privilege and all that are a menace to society, he needs to cashier many of the senior pussy-hat-wearing people at DoD and the uniformed services.

In times of trouble, even 'Devil Dogs' aren't much use if led by 'Lap Dogs'.

todd galle said...

tcross is correct, eat and sleep. Everybody in the service stinks to high heaven (except possibly the Air Force), so no one does. Just use some water to wash out your nutsack and good to go, which I think would work for the ladies as well (sans said nutsack). Doesn't even take a quarter of a canteen. I can still handle this type of living today as a 50+ year old, but I couldn't hump a 60 pound load for more than my kitchen, well maybe to the TV room, but not to our bar.

Yancey Ward said...

I rarely nap, but then I also get 9 hours of solid sleep almost every night, and have done so my entire life.

Scotty, beam me up... said...

I haven’t read the article but “the FM 7-22 Holistic Health and Fitness manual... has chapters on setting goals, visualizing success, 'spiritual readiness' and, yes, the art of the nap." sounds like this was written by one of the Obama Administrations appointed bureaucrats in the Pentagon over 4 years ago but due to the inertia of bureaucracy, finally got released to the soldiers. I have got to ask my son about this later as he is currently in the US Army and get his take on it...

todd galle said...

I still have some FMs. I think Survival, Evading, and Escape, many on Land Navigation, the First Aid one, and the 'cartoon' edition of the M-42 manual. I'm sure there are more somewhere, but my kids are know to raid the library here.

Narr said...

Wag, non-veteran, and thoughtful fellow that I am, my gift to my son on his 18th b.d. was the then-current Army Basic Survival FM.

There's some really cool and useful stuff in there.

Narr
Shoulda got one for myself

Yancey Ward said...

They left out using rose-scented bath oils and a glass of wine while listening to the Althouse audio blog.

ga6 said...

Only REMFs and boot Lieutenants say P38.

DanTheMan said...

>>They left out using rose-scented bath oils and a glass of wine

The sub guys get those. :)

Howard said...

Blogger tcrosse said...

Never run when you can walk, never walk when you can stand, never stand when you can sit, never sit when you can lay down, never lay down when you can sleep, and never pass a clean supply of drinking water.


This was the mantra of my 4th grade teacher who was a WWII Drill Sergent.

Howard said...

We called the p38 a John Wayne

Lars Porsena said...

Art of the nap? I guess I'm Caravaggio..in a hole, under a jeep, on a cargo pallets of inflight aircraft, on a desk, standing up.......

Unknown said...

"The mental problems of military personnel obviously extend to much more serious conditions than the feeling of frazzlement ..."
This just perpetuates the myth that most of our veterans are mentally messed up. I know quite a few. They are not.

ken in tx said...

Some people think the word bath means a tub bath only. I first heard of this when talking to people from New Jersey. It must be a regional thing. You can take a bath in a sink, or as mentioned above, a bucket.

J said...

When you have mastered the art of sleeping in the driver's compartment of a M113 you get promoted to Specialist.

J said...

Oh and that Klingon thingy of sleeping on metal shelves is very comfortable.Diamond decking is a great back support.

Tom said...

I am the very model of a modern, Major General,
I’ve hibernated and slumbered pre and post nocturnal

RobinGoodfellow said...

“Even today the smell of a diesel engine makes me sleepy.,”

That’s probably just the carbon monoxide.