Hi Redeye
Most militaries tend to have one shift/rotation for combat zones and another for peacetime zones. An example would be the RAF having day on, day off for it's aircrew in the Gulf Wars.The crew would assemble three hours before scheduled take-off time, prep and brief,depart, attack, return, debrief and hit the beer...next day off.The only variation would be the type of aircraft flown, such as cargo or airtanker, which often meant longer airtime per day. The techs worked a 12 on, 12 off day, often on a 5 day, three day basis.Another example is RN crew, who usually work a four-hour watch daily pattern, but go to a 7,5,5,7 daily pattern in war zones.Also, the RAF use civvie-like shift patterns at it's deep-maintenance centres such as Lyneham, a pattern learned from civvie contractors and they take those people off the normal overseas posting roster.So, if a global Army like the British can do it, so can the Air Corps. They have had civvie contractors in there for years and plenty of current AC personnel have the same experience of working civvie shifts and schedules (you know how!). The mindset of the 9 to half-four will have to go, by hook or by crook, if the Don is to get anyway capable of overseas ops.
regards
Gttc
