MasterBates
Well-Known Member
IIRC, 450mg is a "should" not a shall..
Fortunately back in the day, the earlier versions of OPNAV 3710. never mentioned this stuff. Otherwise as a coffee addict (still am), I would have been grounded forever.MB is right on:
8.3.2.5 Drugs (in OPNAV 3710.7T) states
a.
4. Caffeine — Excessive intake of caffeine from
coffee, tea, cola, etc., can cause excitability,
sleeplessness, loss of concentration,
decreased awareness, and dehydration. Caffeine
intake should be limited to not more than
450 mg per day, or 3 to 4 cups of coffee.
MB is right on:
8.3.2.5 Drugs (in OPNAV 3710.7T) states
a.
4. Caffeine — Excessive intake of caffeine from
coffee, tea, cola, etc., can cause excitability,
sleeplessness, loss of concentration,
decreased awareness, and dehydration. Caffeine
intake should be limited to not more than
450 mg per day, or 3 to 4 cups of coffee.
I was just pointing out that he was correct about the should rather than shall - I know that this aspect of opnav is kind of ridiculous.
Nobody in the real world takes any of that seriously, and people drink things like Monster and Red Bull in the cockpit every day. Will you people please, please relax about this stuff?
Brett
Yes, but I've heard from someone directly, in the HTs, that this question was asked in a brief (on their instrument checkride I think?). Seriously. If it was an O-3 IP, I'd have been tempted to ask "Sir, who the hell cares?"
HTs =/= real world.
Brett
My point was that SOMEONE will attempt to test you on this sort of ridiculous minutiae.
Prime example (heard from B pilots) = HSL. And VP.
Well, I've never, ever heard anyone so much as mention that kind of thing, or even bat an eye at people who self-medicate (within reason), and I've been in both of those communities as aircrew.
My point is that you can't make assumptions about how it is in the fleet based on what some moron IP did, so please stop - all of you. Drink your beloved Coffee, Monster, Red Bull, and (gasp!) Gatorade to your palpitating hearts' content, because nobody cares.
Brett
MB is right on:
8.3.2.5 Drugs (in OPNAV 3710.7T) states
a.
4. Caffeine — Excessive intake of caffeine from
coffee, tea, cola, etc., can cause excitability,
sleeplessness, loss of concentration,
decreased awareness, and dehydration. Caffeine
intake should be limited to not more than
450 mg per day, or 3 to 4 cups of coffee.
That's the dumbest thing I've ever heard and shows a complete lack of regard for circadian rhythm. Getting 2hrs of sleep makes a you a prime candidate to buy it on the drive back into work or on the drive home the next day. Our Wing SOP has the "shall not be required to muster until 10hrs after post-flight debrief, should not be required to muster until 12..." clause in it, which helps a fair bit.
Yep. It was retarded. I got hammered by the DHs more than once because I "sauntered" in at 0930.. The forget I landed at 0230ish, had to debrief/do a 60 hour, and didn't leave until damn near 0500.
There were MANY days I basically "woke up" at work, with no real recollection of how I got out of bed and on my bike and made it into work. Body was running on autopilot. Of course, I would have the ORM hammer dropped on MY head if I got into an accident on the way in, but when you try to pull the "I only got 2 hours (or less) of sleep" card, you get a lecture about "time management"..