Drill days were especially rough. We called them Vulcan Death Watches, although I have heard other nicknames as well.
There's a lot of nukes in this forum, but for the all the non-nukes out there, drills use all three of the ship's shifts. The on-watch shift is normally assisted by the off-going shift in emergencies. The on-coming shift then supervises, runs, and observes the drills.
So one way or another, all three shifts are going to be up and awake during the drill cycle. The typical rotation for us packed 3x 4-hours shifts in to the same time that would normally be occupied by 2x 6-hour shifts. So the pre-dawn shift and evening shift would have both of the off-watch thirds of the crew taking personal time while all three of the morning and mid-day drill shifts have everyone awake.
It more or less takes your body clock and smashes it with a sledgehammer.
It also prepares you mentally for just about anything.
There's a lot of nukes in this forum, but for the all the non-nukes out there, drills use all three of the ship's shifts. The on-watch shift is normally assisted by the off-going shift in emergencies. The on-coming shift then supervises, runs, and observes the drills.
So one way or another, all three shifts are going to be up and awake during the drill cycle. The typical rotation for us packed 3x 4-hours shifts in to the same time that would normally be occupied by 2x 6-hour shifts. So the pre-dawn shift and evening shift would have both of the off-watch thirds of the crew taking personal time while all three of the morning and mid-day drill shifts have everyone awake.
It more or less takes your body clock and smashes it with a sledgehammer.
It also prepares you mentally for just about anything.