ARmy ROllS Out a neW WeapOn: StRategic napping

Turns out Beetle Bailey had it right all along.

The loafing comic- strip Army private has been sleeping on duty for 70 years, to the frequent fury of his platoon sergeant. But Wednesday, the Army released new guidelines for optimal soldier performance — and they include strategic and aggressive napping.

The recommendation is part of an overhaul of the Army’s physical fitness training field manual, which was rebranded this week as the FM 7- 22 Holistic Health and Fitness manual. No longer is the guide focused entirely on grueling physical challenges like long ruck marches and pull- ups. Now it has chapters on setting goals, visualizing success, “spiritual readiness” and, yes, the art of the nap.

“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.”

It is the first update to the manual in eight years. The manual also has updates on running techniques to avoid injury and 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 new guidance comes as the military has become increasingly aware that chronic sleep deprivation during missions can cripple decision- making and lead to disaster. The Navy recently overhauled sleep schedules at sea after determining that fatigue was a factor in two fatal warship collisions.

The shift to a broad approach to fitness that includes sustainable exercise, better recovery and proper sleep and nutrition could have big payoffs in the wider military, said Phillip Carter, a former soldier who served during the Iraq War and now teaches veterans’ policy at Georgetown University. both in terms of lifelong well- being and in monetary savings for the taxpayer.

Worn- out knees, injured backs and other musculoskeletal injuries are the leading reasons that troops receive disability payments after leaving the military.

“The government is spending billions of dollars a year to compensate troops for breaking them in service,” Carter said. “If it’s just a little bit better, it could be a huge difference.”