Morning Hours

little lulu

5-Year Member
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Oct 28, 2012
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Why does everything start so early in the military? What time are officers required to get up in the morning? Do officers have to exercise every day or can they skip a few days and sleep in as long as they are not late for work?
 
I can talk abou the Army

Why does everything start so early in the military?

What is "early" for you? A typical active duty day used to start with 6:30 A.M. physical traininig. If there is no physical training, the duty day can start anywhere from still 6:30 to 9:00 A.M.


What time are officers required to get up in the morning?

You are required to get up in time to meet your duty requirement. So if you have a physical training schedule for 6:30 A.M. you might have to get up at 5:30 A.M for 15 minutes to wake up, 30 minutes for commute (could be shorter or longer. If so will adjust your wake up time accordingly) to get to the physical training location about 15 miniutes before it starts.

Do officers have to exercise every day or can they skip a few days and sleep in as long as they are not late for work?

Depends on, if you are required to attend physical training, you can't skip it. There is more to physical trainining than just getting in shape individually. If there is no required physical training activity in the morning, suppose you can sleep in as long as you report to work on the perscribed time.
 
I can speak for the USN.

There used to be a TV ad for the US Navy that said, "we do more before 10 a.m. than most people do all day." It's pretty much true.

I would echo the post above. Also, most military schedules are "front loaded" in that days tend to start before 0800. If you drive by the Pentagon at 0600 there are lots of cars already there; by 0800, the parking lot is full. By 1600 (4 pm), it's starting to empty considerably. By 1800 (6 pm), basically only the watchstanders are still around. The same tends to be true on ships and in squadrons.

One thing the military "teaches" you is to become a "morning person." Even if you aren't now, you will be. As a civilian, I still arrive at work before 8 even though our normal working hours don't start until 9.
 
Of course there are exceptions to the morning hours for a lot of the military because it is a 24 hour operation. Son's squadron is doing night flying this week, so their showtime is Noon with first flight slot at 1600. Because of formal release they will not get done until Midnight then home to eat dinner by 0100 and work out or study until 0300, then to bed for required crew rest.

Stealth_81
 
AF support perspective: Squadron hours are usually 0730 to 1630. At the Group staff I usually work more like 0700 to 1730. It really depends on the commander. My boss is in at 0800 and out of here by 1700 most days. One of our squadron commanders pretty much expects her officers to work 12 hour days.
 
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