Pentagon needs to wake up on troops’ lack of sleep, watchdog says

Even with a full arsenal of energy drinks and coffee rations, the U.S. military is still losing the war against sleepiness.

Despite promises from military leaders to address a lack of sleep among service members, most troops still fail to get enough rest each night to fully function at their posts, researchers warned in a report released this week.

“Fatigue and sleep deprivation among active-duty service members continues to be more the rule than the exception,” investigators from the Government Accountability Office wrote in findings released to Congress on March 26. “Impairment from fatigue can be equivalent to the effects of alcohol intoxication and increases the risk of collisions and mishaps.”