Did you ever read FM 22-9 Soldier Performance in Continuous Operations?

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 22:27:41 -0400

FM 22-9 Soldier Performance in Continuous Operations, 12 December 1991
Executive Summary:
I read FM 22-9 when I was young and I found it to be informative. Many have misapplied lessons about endurance over the years. Some leaders have mistakenly believed that the preferred practice was to employ Soldiers in exhaustive conditions. There is a time and place for Continuous, Exhaustive training but these are usually best placed at the end of a training cycle as a culminating event. Indeed we should train for the worst of conditions and I am an advocate for challenging your system to the point of failure. Critical is the end point of failure which must be properly anticipated and mitigation planned for risk. Reality may require Continuous operations in war and again exhaustion must be anticipated with a relief planned to prevent culmination of a unit without protection and support. Unexpected culmination in training can lead to the loss of life and in combat can lead to in best case mission failure and in the worst case mass casualties. Considering this the Army invested resources and in 1991 published the FM 22-9 Soldier Performance in Continuous Operations to address the consideration of sustained operations.
I have provided a copy of FM 22-9 at this link: https://www.dropbox.com/sh/qkvlivshdhhvpi7/AAD7N6xlV5JjHIUKdd98zE7Ga?dl=0
I will be reposting latter as a long contribution

FM 22-9 Soldier Performance in Continuous Operations

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Response by COL Charles Williams made Mar 12 at 2015 10:29 PM

COL Charles Williams — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 22:29:32 -0400

I did not even know it existed.... But I just did a quick look... Seems odd.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 12 at 2015 10:33 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 22:33:42 -0400

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member , Excellent find and intriguing topic! I'll definitely familiarize myself with this treasure and see if it hits or misses the target.

Response by TSgt Joshua Copeland made Mar 12 at 2015 10:38 PM

TSgt Joshua Copeland — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 22:38:44 -0400

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member , I have read a like of Army AR's and FMs but not that one. Looks like I have some good reading material this weekend!

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Mar 12 at 2015 10:39 PM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 22:39:22 -0400

My timelines are fuzzy. I've read bits & pieces of this over the years (resulting in eventually absorbing most of it), but I think my take away from it was sleep deprivation affects us on par, if not worse than alcohol. Losing 2~ hours of sleep per night for a week straight will impair your judgement at the same level of being at the "legal limit."

Add to that the stresses of heat, and you have a dangerous physiological cocktail. Every 20 degrees of temperature basically makes your body work twice as hard for the same benefit.

Response by CSM Michael J. Uhlig made Mar 12 at 2015 10:42 PM

CSM Michael J. Uhlig — Thu, 12 Mar 2015 22:42:30 -0400

This is a great Field Manual MAJ Private RallyPoint Member, I am glad you brought it forward. This was a subject we used to study and teach, everyone talks sleep plans (especially when going through our National Training Centers) when we know we are going to push ourselves, like during deployments. It is worth more than being limited to just a deployment or major training exercise. Very good information including the degraded performance as well as the compounded effect of lack of rest. Great information to share with the force!

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Mar 13 at 2015 9:26 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 09:26:44 -0400

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member on a related note, you may want to solicit some information from the pilots & air crew we have. "If" my memory serves, I came across this when I was introduced to the concept of mandatory downtime, and maximum flight hours in the mid-90's. Our RP members who do flight ops would be far more versed on some of these concepts, as they live and breath them. I want to say the 70hr/week rule, much like truckers was in effect for a long time.

Response by 1LT William Clardy made Mar 13 at 2015 9:26 AM

1LT William Clardy — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 09:26:53 -0400

It should provide some quick reading this weekend.

Just on a first-skim evaluation, it looks like something I would have made required reading for leaders, just as I pushed "The Soldier's Load and the Mobility of a Nation" on ROTC cadets under my influence (I also cited it when the brevity of my "required/allowed" packing lists for ROTC training exercises was questioned).

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 13 at 2015 3:18 PM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 15:18:10 -0400

You should be able to breeze through it. Eh.. It flows very logically. It is not longer published.

Response by SGT Private RallyPoint Member made Mar 13 at 2015 7:00 PM

SGT Private RallyPoint Member — Fri, 13 Mar 2015 19:00:15 -0400

Sir,

Thank you for posting this. It's an interesting read.

For those who might not be aware, there is a current version of this publication. It's FM 6-22.5, Combat and Operational Stress Control Manual for Leaders and Soldiers, published 18 March 2009.

Response by CSM Frederick Bourjaily made Jul 9 at 2022 6:38 PM

CSM Frederick Bourjaily — Sat, 09 Jul 2022 18:38:57 -0400

I made certain every leader and soldier I had contact with read and embraced many of the tenets in 22-9. More importantly, I pointed out that it was not just meant for those being lead but those leading. It’s ok to take that power nap!