Exceptional post. I feel like this could be broken down into two or three articles and could even act as inspiration for fictional pieces.
Reading about your experiences on the Vulcan death watches was something else. I'm not sure how I would handle a culture shock like that. Have you found that the experiences during that time have prepared you for other area of life in certain ways? And if so, what areas?
(I'm tagging @trostparadox here because I think he'll appreciate this post, since he's following my curation trail I'll loop back round to this post for my vote once I see if he's noticed it or not)
Wow. Thank you for your kind words. The idea of working without sleep wasn't new to me before joining the Navy. I experienced it in high school during a stressful point when I wasn't getting good grades. The problem with the Vulcan Death Watches was the frequency at which the ship deprived you of sleep and the way they deprived it.
The alarms, flashing lights, sometimes jumping into protective gear before heading into the fray mere minutes after awakening. "It wasn't boring" would probably be an understatement. It taught me that there were priorities in life. Deal with something now, then deal with other things later.
I have found the experience when a need arises certainly prepared me for other areas in life. Over the last two years, I've been working, studying, and learning to be a father and head of household. This, too, has led me to acknowledge that my life isn't boring. It has been horrible and wonderful. Horrible because people shouldn't have to go through strife-yet, wonderful because of the joys brought by fatherhood.
Insomnia perfected through military life now has an application despite its consequences.