ABSTRACT
This chapter attempts to reassess from whence readers came (yesterday), where readers are today, and to imagine where readers are headed in the future (tomorrow) regarding soldier fatigue. It provides scheduling information for planning sleep routines during all activities, basic sleep environment information and other related factors. The chapter focuses on the most important variables contributing to soldier fatigue: the need for sleep – the quantity and quality of sleep obtained; long bouts of psychomotor task performance; on field leaders' operational contingency planning and decision-making, which may be affected by acute sleep loss and information overload. Soldier fatigue research often focuses primarily on sleep deprivation and subsequent performance measurement. Natural terrain and environmental features of battlefields are significant in development of soldier fatigue – if for no other reason than to affect soldiers' ability to obtain restful sleep. A variety of environmental stressors play significant roles in determining a soldier's level of alertness or the counterpart: "fatigue."
