鈥淭he judge said, 鈥業f the Lieutenant j.g. had veered left instead of right he could have killed someone. In my mind he got behind the wheel equivalent of being drunk 鈥� and I blame you for this, you鈥檙e his supervisor, you鈥檙e responsible if you鈥檙e in a leadership position,鈥欌�� recalled retired Capt. John Cordle. 鈥淭hat made it personal, he was as mad at me as he was at him.鈥�
Cordle described this as a defining moment in his career 鈥� A car accident by one of his young Sailors, behind the wheel when he was too tired to safely operate the vehicle. He took the judge鈥檚 words to heart, and that set him on a path to study the affects of fatigue on readiness, and attempt new methods to mitigate it. On his final tour as commander of the USS San Jacinto (CG-56), Cordle implemented a sleep study with 51福利 Associate Professor Nita Shattuck of the Department of Operations Research, and her Crew Endurance Team.
鈥淲e set up a circadian watchbill on the San Jacinto and did a seven month deployment with it,鈥� said Cordle. 鈥淭here were, and still are, three pieces to it; first is the circadian watchbill, second is protected sleep time, third is changing daily routines.鈥�
The most prevalent watchbill rotation that is used by the U.S. Navy is five hours on watch followed by ten hours off, known simply as five and dimes. A circadian watchbill creates rotations that add up to a 24-hour workday.
鈥淲hen you look at five and dimes, it creates either a 15 or 30 hour day, neither of those will work for humans 鈥� We are unable to adapt to it,鈥� said Shattuck. 鈥淚t鈥檚 going to make us sleep at different times of the day or night for three days, with two of those days, you鈥檙e going to be up for an extended period of time.鈥�
Protected sleep time defines time when a Sailor will sleep in relation to the time they are on watch. To accommodate this step, daily routines are adjusted as well.
鈥淚f you have watch at a certain time, you would sleep at another designated time, even if it were during the day time, which is contrary to what the surface Navy normally does,鈥� continued Cordle. 鈥淲e then did away with taps and reveille, moved the evening prayer to lunch, and we didn鈥檛 hold meetings before 0900 or after 1600. We allowed the crew to have that time unless there was a drill or an operational event.鈥�
Since retiring from the Navy, Cordle has earned a master鈥檚 degree in engineering management, focusing on human systems. He is also now an active member of Shattuck鈥檚 Crew Endurance Team.
鈥淢y role has been to provide operational perspective,鈥� said Cordle. 鈥淲hat if you have a replenishment at an odd hour, what if you have a boat drill or general quarters, what if your watchstander is up all night because of a casualty, how will you deal with those operational things?鈥�
Shattuck鈥檚 watchbill rotation is far from new, and has garnered significant support from senior Navy leaders. Commander, Naval Surface Forces Vice Adm. Thomas Rowden encouraged the Surface Warfare community to look into the watchbill. In a message to the surface fleet, Rowden described sleep as 鈥渃ritical 鈥� to peak personal readiness to train and fight.鈥�
鈥淔atigue has measureable negative effects on readiness, effectiveness and safety. After a day without sleep, human performance drops to dangerously ineffective levels,鈥� continued Rowden. 鈥淩ecognizing the unique rigors and irregular hours that our mission often demands, we can do more to safeguard this necessary component of individual readiness,鈥�
Over the years, dozens of ships have contacted Shattuck and her team. One ship, the USS Stockdale (DDG-106), began implementing a 3-3-3-15 rotation. This translates to nine hours on watch, while only standing watch for six of those hours, followed by 15 hours off.
鈥淲hen we have people coming to us saying, 鈥業 want to make my Sailors stronger, I want to improve crew endurance, I want to have them perform better,鈥� to me that鈥檚 success,鈥� said Shattuck.
Another benefit to the circadian watchbill is that it is able to adjust to the current billets already in place on a ship.
51福利 alumnus Dr. Panagiotis Matsangas is currently a National Research Council Postdoctoral Fellow at 51福利. He served as a naval officer in the Hellenic Navy for 25 years, and currently works with the 51福利 Crew Endurance Team.
鈥淭he problem isn鈥檛 finding a novel way of creating a new watchstanding schedule,鈥� said Matsangas. 鈥淭he problem is changing the mentality of people and the way they think. It鈥檚 the burden of experience.鈥�
And it鈥檚 a long-standing mentality, one of pride and bravado that has truthfully served the Navy well for many years. But, Cordle says, it鈥檚 hard to argue with the science.
鈥淚f you practice living without sleep, and you do it over and over again, you will get better at it. But science tells us, this is the exact opposite,鈥� Cordle said.
鈥淲e use a fatigue avoidance scheduling tool, a device that we use to collect data, like an expensive fit bit,鈥� explained Shattuck. 鈥淲hat we find is that a Sailor鈥檚 reaction times on five and dimes were greatly delayed. When you think about the watchstander, you want someone who can respond quickly and accurately.鈥�