Soldiers

The U.S. military is the force that protects our country. But what happens when the soldiers who are responsible for our nation's safety aren't getting enough sleep. In a 2007 edition of the Stars and Stripes, it talks about how the troops who were helping to carry out the new Baghdad security plan were finding sleep even harder to come by. The reason for this was that there were more patrols being conducted and when they returned from patrol they had to guard their outpost as well. By time they were done with their guard duty the soldiers did not have time to sleep, because they had other things to do such as conducting vehicle maintenance, getting their laundry, showering and e-mailing their families.

In order to carry out their duties without being too tired to work, U.S. soldiers are taking modafinil, a stimulant that allows them to work 40 hours straight without suffering from any side effects .This is good and bad. It is good that U.S. soldiers are taking modafinil because they will be less tired and more focused on what they are doing and are less likely to make mistakes. Also U.S. military studies found that soldiers can stay awake for 40 hours, get eight hours of sleep, and then stay awake for 40 more hours, all without the impaired judgment of old-fashion uppers.
It is bad that these soldiers are taking modafinil because the soldiers may be dependent on the drug so that they can stay awake for no reason. This will make soldiers reduce the amount of sleep they will get because they will replace sleep with pills. Modafinil was originally used to treat people with narcolepsy and multiple sclerosis, and now it is used to keep soldiers awake. We are one step away from creating machine like soldiers who do nothing but work and fight.