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About The daily Nebraskan. ([Lincoln, Neb.) 1901-current | View Entire Issue (Feb. 7, 1991)
Sleep deprivation a weapon in attacks against Iraqi force WASHINGTON (AP) - If you can’t kill them, you can keep them awake with bombs, hour after hour, night after night, making sleep deprivation a weapon. An army may travel on its stomach, but its got to have its ‘Zs,’ too. Allied forces in the Persian Gulf war arc showering the Republican Guard, Iraq’s best troops, with bombs almost continually, day and night. Officials said Wednesday the aim is not only to kill but to discomfort and demoralize. The loss of sleep is an important part of this. “The attacks on the Republican Guard ... are designed basically to lower his morale and to ensure that when he eventually is forced out of his well dug-in positions ... that he’s in the least possible condition, rather than the best, to take on the fight,” said British Group Capt. Niall Irving. “That’s what we’re doing by this continual bombardment.” The purpose of the bombing, said Irving, is not just death for the Iraqi troops. Rather, it’s “like keeping them awake all night, night after night_ It’s morale. It’s keeping h im awake.” Although sleep deprivation is sel dom noted in tales of wartime hero ics, experts say it can be an important clement in winning or losing. “There is no doubt that it can be a very effective weapon, psychologi cally and physiologically, if you can pull it off,” said Dave Dinges, an expert on sleep deprivation at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine and the Institute of Penn sylvania Hospital. “The hard part is pulling it off.” Dinges said that it is very difficult to determine just how well an enemy army can adapt to events, even to bombing. Many troops, he said, can “snack” on sleep and remain effec tive. But even for these “nap snack crs” the sleep debt eventually lowers the will and the ability to fight. “Sleep is a fundamental drive, like eating and staying warm,” said Dinges. “It’s one of the basic needs. The more it is deprived and disrupted, the more demoralized your troops get.” The decline in morale, said Dinges, is more intense “if the sleep loss is not of your own will. If you are forced to be awake, such as by bombardment, then over time you can get very demoralized.” Loss of sleep erodes an army’s ability to fight in many ways. Troops begin to lose interest in the basics of soldiering. Having to watch a radar screen, stand guard duty or perform other activities that require a quiet alertness becomes “hellishly hard to do” for the sleep-deprived soldier, said Dinges. “Studies have shown that soldiers can still shoot straight if they arc really tired, but they stop cleaning their weapons,” he said. “They give up a lot of little stuff that seem incon sequential because they are tired. Then they become militarily ineffective, with a lot of weapons jams.” Laverne Johnson, the retired chief scientist at the Naval Health Research Center in San Diego, said that his studies show sleep deprivation se verely reduces troops’ ability to under stand and execute orders. Johnson said that troops may still be able to function at nearly full ef fectiveness at some jobs, such as shooting simple weapons, but that they will become exhausted more quickly and require rest more often. More complicated tasks, such as plot ting map coordinates or radar fire control, “is when you get into trouble.” “Sleep deprivation can reduce the effectiveness by 10 to 50 percent, depending on the function of the troops,” he said. Both Johnson and Dinges said, however, that sleep deprivation alone should not be counted on to put the Republican Guard out of action. “Sleep deprivation takes its loll, no doubt about it, but you would be amazed w'hat a person can do when his life depends on it,” said Johnson. War Continued from Page 2 “The task is formidable,” he said, “and no one should underestimate Saddam’s military capabilities.” Baker said the United States was trying to wage “a just war in a just way,” trying to minimize damage to civilians and to religious and cultural sites. He repeated a warning to Saddam that any use of chemical or biological weapons “will have the most severe consequences.” In line with widespread congres sional thinking, Baker also called for an end to the “destructive pattern of military competition and prolifera tion in this region and to reduce arms flows into an area that is already over militarized.” Answering concerns about the willingness of allies to share the costs of the war, Baker said that more than $50 billion has been pledged to date, together with an additional $14 bil lion to aid such nations as Egypt, Turkey and Jordan that have been hurt by the effort against Iraq. Treasury Secretary Nicholas Brady was questioned by members of the Senate Budget Committee about “foot dragging” on the pan of the allies in honoring their commitments. “This is a matter of daily concern in the Treasury,” Brady replied. “We want to make sure the billing process is up to date.” He conceded that payments from some countries haven’t “come in on time,” and said the administration was continuing to monitor the situ ation. i--NEWS BRIEFS_. Radio station to air students’ war views The University of Nebraska Lincoln’s radio station is giving listeners a chance to voice opin ions on the Persian Gulf war for possible broadcast. 90.3 KRNU listeners are en couraged to call the gulf war lis tener line and express their views. Those recorded responses will be edited and broadcast at various times on the station for the duration of the war. The gulf war line number is -* 472-8281. Career fair planned for minorities The University of Nebraska-Lin coln will sponsor a Minority Ca reer Fair Friday from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Wick Alumni Center. The event is coordinated by the UNL Career Planning and Place 1 ment Center and the Athletic De partment. All racial minority students can attend. Representatives of 45 com panies from various locations na tionwide will be participating. Support Continued from Page 1 Deshayes, whose 24-year-old daughter is serving in Operation Desert Storm, said she’s not em barrassed to cry at the meetings, because other group members “don’t react with embarrassment.” Beverly Smith, a secretary in the Computing Resource Center, agreed. “It’s very hard for them to un derstand your pain,” she said. Smith said she had to fight a ghost when she started the group, which she now calls “second fam ily.” That ghost was her husband, who died in the Vietnam War. Smith, whose 27-year-old son is in the Army Ready Reserves, said venting her frustrations during group meetings has been helpful. “I am better able to go on and function in my life,” Smith said. “1 can come once a week and talk to people who know how I feel.” The support group organized in response to phone calls to the Em ployee Assistance Program from employees upset about family mem bers in the Middle East and from UNL supervisors who were con cerned about their employees, Myers Lf!ii Between two and six members attend the weekly group meetings, Myers said. She said the small number doesn’t represent all employees affected by the war, but the group hasn’t been well-publicized. Also, some employees feel uncomfortable about attending a support group, she said. Group members help each other deal with the physical and emo tional responses they have to their situations, Myers said. Common responses include sleep disturbances, anxiety, problems with concentration, short-term memory loss, tearfulness, anger and a feel ing of helplessness, Myers said. She said the group has been suc cessful, partly because of the con fidentiality the group provides. “If you’re having a strong emo tional reaction to something, then of course you’re very sensitive to that (confidentiality),” Myers said. “You want to be able to express that reaction knowing there’s some safely there.” The need to talk also has helped the group succeed, Myers said. “As a professional, it’s been a very responsive group,” she said. “And personally, it enriches my « life 10 meev people, who are . . . 1 sensitive, caring people.” I f"'This Ad Will Not Save ^ You 40-50% at^Post^Nickel... .. .Going There Will RIGHT NOW, THE POST fit NICKELS SEMI-ANNUAL CLEARANCE WILLSAYB YOU UP TO S07» ON* AHUGE ASSORTMENT OFMENS’ & lapibs* fall a winter fashions, rrs on one of our BIGGEST & BESTSELBCTIONS! BUT HURRY! 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