By Jon Chase.
The Wonder Drug Years
After Go-Pills were given the go-ahead, researchers were intrigued by the potential of a new stimulant called Modafinil.
While amphetamines had been used for half a century to sharpen pilots and prevent fatigue.
There remained the nagging potential for abuse and addiction and bouts of post-dose sleeplessness.
In comparison, the results of studies with Modafinil were eye-popping:
- Modafinil enables intense and prolonged alertness without becoming addictive,
- It’s a non-stimulant and so does not interfere with sleep patterns,
- And it doesn’t yield tolerance.
Modafinil is a unicorn.
The Air Force tested this new wonder drug with;
- helicopter pilots,
- fighter pilots,
- and bomber pilots.
And found no downsides, even after long-term use.
As a result, the Air Force began administering the drug to fighter pilots during the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
And have had no issues to date.
(It also explains why Modafinil was formulated to help narcoleptics stay awake during the day. Became a darling of nose-to-the-grindstone Silicon Valley programmers.)
Modafinil changed my life, and I don’t feel tired anymore. Matty.D βββββ
Alertness Is Everything.
It’s not unusual for fighter pilots to sit tight in a cockpit for 12 hours.
Traversing time zones while the civilian world takes turns dozing.
The feat requires not only endurance but also razor-sharp focus.
Maintaining such unflinching vigilance means fighter pilots must hit the sack between trips.
It’s a tricky balancing act: alternating alertness and shuteye, but they don’t have a choice.
So, fighter pilots keep fatigued in their crosshairs through a strict diet and sleep schedule.
But, when the physical and mental rigors of life behind the sticks prove too great, they hit the bottle of “Go Pills.”
Since the dawn of dogfighting, fighter pilots have been prescribed uppers, downers, and everything between.
- Speed,
- Meth,
- And new-age smart pills have all made their way into pilots’ hands.
Uncle Sam handed them these substances. As the demands on pilots only continue to increase, the search for ever-more-powerful additives continues.
The Need for Speed
Here’s a look at how aviators have learned to stay sharp under the most extreme circumstances since World War II.
Though it had been synthesized in 1887, amphetamine, or speed, first hit the market in 1932 in the form of a decongestant inhaler called Benzedrene.
Besides helping asthmatics breathe better, it also had notable stimulant effects.
This is why amphetamine “energy pills” became attractive to soldiers and pilots of both the Axis and Allies during WWII.
Fighter pilots could pop a pill and be able to cruise unhindered for another four, six, or eight hours.
The frenzy and fearlessness of Japanese Kamikaze pilots have since been attributed to their being cranked on speed.
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Modafinil works every time, and I take it whenever I have a busy day.
Marilyn. B.βββββ
Researchers picked up on the notion that amphetamines.
Which weren’t considered to be addictive, we’re creating severe health problems.
A somewhat severe issue since U.S. and British forces consumed some 150 million speed pills during WWII.
For instance, at one U.S. military prison in 1945, a quarter of the population was strung out, agitated and hallucinating.
Due to a habit of eating the amphetamine strips from Benzedrine inhalers (five times the usual dose).
Following WWII, the U.S. began testing the effects of the speed American troops were consuming and found
that sleep-deprived volunteers exhibited faster reaction time and better hand-eye coordination,
but they also showed a complete restoration of standard functionality. Win-win!
Thus, by 1960 the U.S. Strategic Air Command had approved the use of amphetamine-based “pep pills” for pilots.
“Go Pills were so common they became part of pilots’ flight kits during the Vietnam War.”
Uppers to Downers
Anyone with too many cups of coffee has gotten hopped up on cold pills.
Knows the difficulty of coming down at the end of the day and achieving quality shuteye.
Add to that equation nighttime flights, a change in diet, cross-continental travel, and combat-fueled adrenaline, and the results are troubling.
To a pilot whose entire livelihood is based on performing with perfection, enough high-quality rest is not crucial but essential.
The timing of flights and Go Pill intake are all part of the calculus.
So, the last decade has seen the introduction of hypnotics and sleeping pills like Ambien and Restoril to the pilot’s arsenal.
They’re dubbed No-Go Pills as a means to counter overstimulation, yes.
But also as a way of forcing adherence to sleep regulations in the face of shifting schedules and locales.
“A Time magazine report estimated that as far back as 2007, some 10,000 soldiers stationed overseas were authorized to take sleeping pills.”
An About Face
The routine use of Dexedrine during long-haul and combat missions continued unabated for three decades until 1991.
When General Merrill McPeak, a particularly anti-drug Air Force Chief of Staff, banned Go-Pills and other in-flight medications after the first Persian Gulf War.
McPeak, a pilot himself, railed against using any drugs, saying he’d flown without them and that they posed an unnecessary health risk.
Despite the moral nature of McPeak’s move, it was an unpopular decision among pilots and researchers.
Who pointed out that Go-Pills had an extended and safe history and were a fail-safe against deadly fatigue.
However, the realities of modern warfare, such as night sorties by fighters and bombers, who spent 30 hours or more in the cockpit, proved to be more convincing.
And so the Air Force reinstated Dexedrine as a Go-Pill for pilots in 1996, with strict guidelines limiting the frequency of use and quantity dispensed.
(Dexedrine is the same drug as Adderall.)
The Future of Fighter Pilot Sleep
The use of drugs, especially for off-label use, has caused some headaches for the Air Force.
There have been periodic media flare-ups, especially after a tragic incident in 2002 when a Go-Pilled US aircrew mistakenly bombed Canadian friendlies.
But there’s no doubting the scientific justification behind their use, especially when today’s Air Force pilots scorch the sky for ever-increasing flight times in complex $50-million rental vehicles.
Consider a 2004 study by the Air Force in which F-117 fighter pilots were subjected to flight testing for up to 37 continuous hours.
While taking regular doses of Modafinil, with no ill effects.
“For fighter pilots, the future of sleep seems to be wide-awake.”
I’m a truck driver so being awake and alert is part of my job. And that’s so easy with Modafinil. Herman. V. βββββ
