Chuck Barrett's Blog, page 11

KILL ZONE: Abbottobad, Pakistan–Osama bin Laden Dead!

US kills Osama bin Laden decade after 9/11 attacks

By KIMBERLY DOZIER and DAVID ESPO, AP

WASHINGTON — Osama bin Laden, the face of global terrorism and architect of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was killed in a firefight with elite American forces Monday, then quickly buried at sea in a stunning finale to a furtive decade on the run.

Long believed to be hiding in caves, bin Laden was tracked down in a costly, custom-built hideout not far from a Pakistani military academy.

"Justice has been done," President Barack Obama said in a dramatic announcement at the White House while a crowd cheered outside and hundreds more gathered at ground zero in Manhattan to celebrate the news.

The military operation took mere minutes.

U.S. helicopters ferrying elite counter-terrorism troops into the compound identified by the CIA as bin Laden's hideout — and back out again in less than 40 minutes. Bin Laden was shot in the head, officials said, after he and his bodyguards resisted the assault.

Three adult males were also killed in the raid, including one of bin Laden's sons, whom officials did not name. One of bin Laden's sons, Hamza, is a senior member of al-Qaida. U.S. officials also said one woman was killed when she was used as a shield by a male combatant, and two other women were injured.

The U.S. official who disclosed the burial at sea said it would have been difficult to find a country willing to accept the remains. Obama said the remains had been handled in accordance with Islamic custom, which requires speedy burial.

"I heard a thundering sound, followed by heavy firing. Then firing suddenly stopped. Then more thundering, then a big blast," said Mohammad Haroon Rasheed, a resident of Abbottobad, Pakistan, after the choppers had swooped in and then out again.

Bin Laden's death marks a psychological triumph in a long struggle that began with the Sept. 11 attacks, and seems certain to give Obama a political lift. But its ultimate impact on al-Qaida is less clear.

The greatest terrorist threat to the U.S. is now considered to be the al-Qaida franchise in Yemen, far from al-Qaida's core in Pakistan. The Yemen branch almost took down a U.S.-bound airliner on Christmas 2009 and nearly detonated explosives aboard two U.S. cargo planes last fall. Those operations were carried out without any direct involvement from bin Laden.

The few fiery minutes in Abbottobad followed years in which U.S. officials struggled to piece together clues that ultimately led to bin Laden, according to an account provided by senior administration officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the operation.

Based on statements given by U.S. detainees since the 9/11 attacks, they said, intelligence officials have long known that bin Laden trusted one al-Qaida courier in particular, and they believed he might be living with him in hiding.

Four years ago, the United States learned the man's identity, which officials did not disclose, and then about two years later, they identified areas of Pakistan where he operated. Last August, the man's residence was found, officials said.

"Intelligence analysis concluded that this compound was custom built in 2005 to hide someone of significance," with walls as high as 18 feet and topped by barbed wire, according to one official. Despite the compound's estimated $1 million cost and two security gates, it had no phone or Internet running into the house.

By mid-February, intelligence from multiple sources was clear enough that Obama wanted to "pursue an aggressive course of action," a senior administration official said. Over the next two and a half months, the president led five meetings of the National Security Council focused solely on whether bin Laden was in that compound and, if so, how to get him, the official said.

Obama made a decision to launch the operation on Friday, shortly before flying to Alabama to inspect tornado damage, and aides set to work on the details.

The president spent part of his Sunday on the golf course, but cut his round short to return to the White House for a meeting where he and top national security aides reviewed final preparations for the raid.

Two hours later, Obama was told that bin Laden had been tentatively identified.

CIA director Leon Panetta was directly in charge of the military team during the operation, according to one official, and when he and his aides received word at agency headquarters that bin Laden had been killed, cheers broke out around the conference room table.

Administration aides said the operation was so secretive that no foreign officials were informed in advance, and only a small circle inside the U.S. government was aware of what was unfolding half a world away.

In his announcement, Obama said he had called Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari after the raid, and said it was "important to note that our counter-terrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding."

One senior administration told reporters, though, "we were very concerned … that he was inside Pakistan, but this is something we're going to continue to work with the Pakistani government on."

The compound is about a half-mile from a Pakistani military academy, in a city that is home to three army regiments and thousands of military personnel. Abbottabad is surrounded by hills and with mountains in the distance.

Critics have long accused elements of Pakistan's security establishment of protecting bin Laden, though Islamabad has always denied it, and in a statement the foreign ministry said his death showed the country's resolve in the battle against terrorism.

Whatever the global repercussions, bin Laden's death marked the end to a manhunt that consumed most of a decade that began in the grim hours after bin Laden's hijackers flew planes into the World Trade Center twin towers in Manhattan and the Pentagon across the Potomac River from Washington. A fourth plane was commandeered by passengers who overcame the hijackers and forced the plane to crash in the Pennsylvania countryside.

In all, nearly 3,000 were killed in the worst terror attacks on American soil.

Former President George W. Bush, who was in office on the day of the attacks, issued a written statement hailing bin Laden's death as a momentous achievement. "The fight against terror goes on, but tonight America has sent an unmistakable message: No matter how long it takes, justice will be done," he said.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Scribblers Line up

Scribblers' Retreat Writers' Conference

St. Simon's Island, Georgia

May 12-14, 2011

THRILLER WRITER

PHILLIP MARGOLIN

Gives Keynote Address

Phillip Margolin, New York Times best-selling author teaches: "How to Write a Novel in Your Spare Time."  Phil will show you how to go from your idea, to actually beginning your book, and how to work it out all the way through to the end.

June Hall McCash – Writing Historical Fiction

Victor DiGenti – Revving Up Your Narrative Drive

Dr. Anya Silver – Writing Poetry: The Enchanted Craft

Denise Tompkins – Effective Query Letter Writing

Ricki Schultz – Online Presence-Building, Made Easy

Jane Wood – Schools, A Niche Market

Pat Bertram – Creating Incredible, but Credible, Characters

Chuck Barrett – Who's Point of View is It Anyway? How Not to Confuse Your Reader"

Conference includes:  "Opening Ceremonies Banquet" and "Evening with the Author" cocktail reception and live music.

www.scribblersretreatwritersconferenc...

800-996-2904

King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort

SCRIBBLERS' RETREAT WRITERS' CONFERENCE

SCRIBBLERS' RETREAT WRITERS' CONFERENCE

MAY 12-14, 2011

Fasten your seatbelts and get ready for adventure, suspense, mystery and history.  Our May Conference is sure to tantalize and inspire you on your own writing journey.  If you have been wondering about how to make your writing a true success story, you will really get a lot out of this conference.  We are proud to present a very interesting mix of inspiring experts from a variety of backgrounds and geographies.  From "thriller" novelists to writers of enchanting poetry and award-winning juvenile fiction writers, this conference has it all!



ST. SIMON'S ISLAND, GA – Through the years, the abundant beauty of the Georgia coast has inspired artists of every stripe, including poets, novelists and playwrights. Inspiration can easily be found on this beautiful island, while enjoying fellowship with other writers and students. During the two-day conference, ten world-class authors, editors, publishers and other literary professionals will impart their own wisdom in a classroom setting.  Each conference begins with an Opening Ceremonies Banquet Thursday evening and ends with an Evening with the Authors cocktail reception Saturday evening.

Scribblers' Retreat Writers' Conferences takes place at the historic King and Prince Beach & Golf Resort. Conference participants enjoy contemplative walks along the beach, and are within minutes of St. Simons's Island's beautiful lighthouse and pier village with its many shops and restaurants. Special rates are available for conference participants on Friday and Saturday nights.  Conference fee includes ten sessions, opening banquet and authors' reception.

To register for Scribblers' Retreat Writers' Conference go to www.scribblersretreatwritersconferenc... <http://www.scribblersretreatwritersconference.org/>   For more information call 1-800-996-2904 .

Based on St. Simon's Island, GA, Scribblers' Retreat Writers Conference is a 501(c) 3 non-profit organization

dedicated to encouraging, educating and promoting budding authors and published authors of all ages while helping them to write and publish their works. We provide a favorable environment to facilitate professional connections

and friendly sharing of valuable information.

 

Amazon Ratings!!!

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! I just received my updated Amazon sales numbers and ratings and, like all authors, I DO watch them. I had noticed that my Kindle sales were increasing rapidly…but I had no idea how well I was doing. I had always just looked at my rating number against ALL Kindle books that Amazon sells which included all genres.

Those nice people at Amazon though have broken down the figures so authors, like myself, can track how their book sales and ratings against other books in the same genres and categories. So where did The Savannah Project stack up? Well let just tell you!!! (Yes, I'm very proud of these figures)

IN the broadest combined genres of ALL mysteries and thrillers———-#49

IN the Thriller only genre—————————————————————–#29

IN the spy stories and tales of intrigue category———————————–#7

And lastly, IN the political fiction category———————————————#6

 

I couldn't have done it without all you readers out there, so here's a special thanks to you from me…….THANK YOU!

Here the link to buy the book, send it to all your friends. Maybe my next update will be even better!

 

Amazon Rankings!!!

Surprise! Surprise! Surprise! I just got my updated Amazon sales numbers, like all authors I DO watch them. I had noticed that my Kindle sales were increasing rapidly…but I had no idea how well I was doing. I had always just looked at my ranking number against ALL Kindle books that Amazon sells which included all genres.

Those nice people at Amazon though have broken down the figures so authors, like myself, can track how their book sells against other books in the same genres and categories. So where did The Savannah Project stack up? Well let just tell you!!! (Yes, I'm very proud of these figures)

IN the broadest combined genres of ALL mysteries and thrillers———-#49

IN the Thriller only genre—————————————————————–#29

IN the spy stories and tales of intrigue category———————————–#7

And lastly, IN the political fiction category———————————————#6

 

I couldn't have done it without all you readers out there, so here's a special thanks to you from me…….THANK YOU!

Here the link to buy the book, send it to all your friends. Maybe my next update will be even better!

 

FAA knew controllers nap, ignored fatigue issue

Editor's note: Charles A. Czeisler, Ph.D., M.D., is Baldino Professor of Sleep Medicine and director of the Divisions of Sleep Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Brigham and Women's Hospital. He also chairs the National Institutes of Health Sleep Disorders Research Advisory Board for the National Center on Sleep Disorders Research in the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.

(CNN) — It's no surprise that a half-dozen air traffic control specialists were recently caught sleeping on the job. The Federal Aviation Administration is well aware that air traffic controllers have been falling asleep every week at each and every air traffic control facility in the nation for at least 30 years — and they still are.

The issue came up in congressional hearings in 1983, where I testified about methods to improve the design of shift work schedules that disrupt sleep. Afterward, I witnessed then-Rep. Al Gore grill FAA officials about the fatigue induced by the notorious "rattler" schedule, which requires controllers to work two shifts within 24 hours twice in a four-day workweek. That includes an early morning day shift (6 a.m. to 2 p.m.) followed by an overnight shift (10 p.m. to 6 a.m.) the same day, with time for only a couple of hours of sleep between shifts.

That same year, the National Transportation Safety Board also urged the FAA to address air traffic controller fatigue, but the advice fell on deaf ears. No wonder 95% of air traffic controllers regularly feel tired or sleepy at work, 77% catch themselves about to doze off while at work, 53% admit to "taking naps at work," and 46% reveal they "often fall asleep unintentionally," according to FAA reports. Controllers' top complaint: fatigue from quick turnarounds.

When awake, controllers' performance is often as impaired as if they were intoxicated. Sleep deficiency slows reaction times, impairs memory recall, makes it harder to focus attention and increases distractibility.

Seventy-nine percent are so exhausted they experience lapses of attention while driving and 36% fall asleep at the wheel while commuting home from the midnight shift. What a way to start a three-day break.

Scientists at the FAA's Civil Aerospace Medical Institute concluded in 1975 that "individuals making a 12-hour alteration in the wake-sleep cycle should not perform critical tasks during the first awake period following the change," yet the FAA requires just that.

Let air traffic controllers take naps?

The NTSB in 1989 cited the FAA's response to air traffic controller fatigue as "unacceptable." In 2001, an FAA-appointed advisory committee again recommended schedule reform and a fatigue-management program. This was never acted upon. In 2007, the NTSB, citing a series of fatigue-related air traffic control incidents, implored the FAA to reform its scheduling practices and implement a fatigue-management program, but the FAA took no action.

Fortunately, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood has pledged reform. FAA Director Randolph Babbitt, admitting an extra hour between shifts is inadequate, promised tougher actions to combat fatigue. The department should seize this opportunity to implement NTSB-mandated comprehensive fatigue-management policies in all modes of transportation.

Fatigue is inherent in 24-7 operations. Ordering people not to doze will not work. From 30% to 50% of all night shift workers fall asleep at work every week, even in high-stakes operations like nuclear power plants. The only NASA study that recorded pilots' brain waves during transoceanic flights caught 44% of the pilots sleeping in the cockpit, just like their passengers in the back of the plane.

We must confront the reality that night work induces fatigue, rather than seeming surprised that rattlers bite. Instead of expressing shock and demonizing night workers for being human, day-working managers should recognize them as unsung heroes.

After all, night workers sacrifice their own health to keep our 24-7 society running safely, facing increased risks of cancer, hypertension, heart disease, hormonal disruption, obesity, diabetes, depression and occupational injury due to sleep deficiency and chronic occupational jet lag.

Transportation workers and management need to learn to minimize fatigue, starting with adoption of safer work schedules that provide enough time for sleep each day. The European Working Time Directive requires that workers in all occupations have at least 11 hours off duty each day, and limits shifts to 13 hours. Shifts should rotate clockwise, from day to evening to night shift. Responding to the 2007 NTSB mandate, the FAA drafted similar policies in 2008, but never implemented them.

Moonlighting on other jobs and travel time from distant cities should be included in work-hour limits. Such sensible work-hour policies, though necessary, are only the first step. Without treatment, sleep disorders — like sleep apnea, which affects about 25% of transportation workers — worsen accident risk.

Sleep apnea screening and treatment compliance policies, using objective measures, are necessary for all workers in all modes of transportation, from operators to maintenance staff. Yet such safety initiatives, recommended by a medical expert panel three years ago for commercial drivers and by the NTSB before that, have languished at the Department of Transportation.

Education is essential. Workers have a responsibility to make sleep a priority while living in a 24/7 society so rife with sleep deficiency that nearly 2 million Americans fall asleep at the wheel every week.

Technologies that continuously monitor alertness and compliance with regulations are sorely needed — like in-vehicle drowsiness detectors and electronic hours-of-service recorders. The efficacy of countermeasures should be field tested using objective brain wave recordings that track how often controllers fall asleep in the towers, as Gore suggested in 1983. Employees must be encouraged to admit, without facing repercussions, whenever they are too tired to work safely. No one should ever be scheduled to work alone at night in a critical job like air traffic control.

Finally, it is ironic that air traffic controllers are allowed to smoke and eat during scheduled breaks, but are forbidden to sleep on break, which would enhance subsequent performance. However, workplace napping should not be used as a ploy to perpetuate the rattler schedule, which the FAA should ban in aviation.

The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Charles A. Czeisler.

NTSB urges fatigue-fighting strategies for air traffic controllers

NTSB urges fatigue-fighting strategies for air traffic controllers

By Paul Courson, CNN

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UPDATED: 05:25 PM EDT 04.25.11

The National Transportation Safety Board hopes air traffic controllers may soon benefit from long-standing research into worker fatigue by implementing strategies that include intentional sleeping on the job, the use of caffeine and other methods shown by science to deal with the overnight shift.

"A controlled nap can boost performance significantly," said NTSB board member Mark Rosekind at a briefing with reporters Monday at agency headquarters. Citing a 1995 study from NASA that has been backed by other research, he said, "A 26-minute nap improved performance 34% and alertness 54%."

The study prompted an advisory that has been adopted by some international air carriers to keep pilots more alert in the cockpit. The measures were not moved forward by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Congressional lawmakers may soon consider legislation reauthorizing the FAA that includes provisions addressing the problem of fatigue. The NTSB's recommendations Monday followed a listening tour of air traffic controllers around the country. The board's advice is issued to federal and other agencies.

Referring to a variety of transportation workers who unintentionally fall asleep on the job, the NTSB official said, "We have many circumstances of documented, uncontrolled spontaneous sleep episodes," including incidents among air traffic control, long-haul trucking and railroads.

According to the research, "A short nap can boost performance, a long nap can make you groggy," Rosekind explained, saying the tactic of catching a few winks is but one element in a comprehensive plan.

Although U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood directed the FAA to increase overnight staffing in air traffic control towers in response to unplanned sleeping on the job, Rosekind says that alone won't solve the problem of fatigued controllers.

"If you don't have a fatigue management plan, and you just throw more people at it, then you've got more tired people on," he said. "However many people you throw at the problem, you're still gonna have the fatigue risk."

The National Air Traffic Controllers Association also hopes the FAA will implement scientifically validated improvements to fight fatigue in the control tower.

In a written statement, NATCA President Paul Rinaldi said, "There is nothing groundbreaking about these recommendations. They are common-sense solutions to a problem NATCA and fatigue experts have consistently raised for years while past administrations turned a blind eye."

Rosekind says the NTSB identified the problem of fatigue among air traffic controllers 30 years ago, but only within the past 15 years or so has the research revealed what fights the problem. He used the example of sleepy drivers who turn up the radio and roll down a window to try to stay awake on the road.

"They only work for 10 minutes or so," he said, saying the research suggests greater benefits from pulling over for a short nap.

"Napping, caffeine, light physical activity, light levels, engagement — social engagement — can work," Rosekind said.

And addressing the economic issues of improved staffing and the cost of scheduling people more in line with their sleep clocks, Rosekind said, "Most people focus on the cost of the fatigue risk when an accident happens.

"What people don't quantify is what they're losing in productivity and performance before that," he added.

How do you feel about Point of View?

How important is point of view to you as a reader?

What about as a writer?

How do you feel when an author shifts the point of view character without signaling to the reader?

Looking for some input on point of view for a conference, please leave me your thoughts!

FAA falls short on plan to aid fatigued workers

FAA falls short on plan to aid fatigued workers

By JOAN LOWY, AP

13 hours ago

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration told a government watchdog nearly two years ago that it was prepared to let air traffic controllers sleep or rest during work shifts when they weren't directing aircraft. It still hasn't happened.

When the FAA proposed new limits on airline pilots' work schedules to prevent fatigue last year, it rejected its own research recommending that pilots be allowed to take naps during the cruise phase of flight — typically most of a flight when the plane is neither climbing nor descending — so that they are refreshed and alert during landings.

And an FAA committee that has been working for several years on new work rules to prevent fatigue among night-shift airline mechanics has made little progress, said one committee member. Allowing naps during breaks on overnight shifts was dismissed as a nonstarter.

In a 24/7 industry like aviation, fatigue is a fact of life. Managing work schedules to minimize fatigue can make the difference between life and death. There have been 14 aviation accidents with 263 fatalities since 1993 in which fatigue was cited as the cause or a contributing factor, according to the National Transportation Safety Board.

Yet the FAA has struggled unsuccessfully for decades to revamp workplace rules for controllers, pilots and mechanics despite a consensus that fatigue is one of the industry's most pressing safety issues. While recognizing the problem is easy, developing workable solutions acceptable to airlines, labor unions and government regulators is tough. Money is a factor. So are public perceptions.

The issue has taken on a new urgency after at least five recent incidents of controllers falling asleep on the job while working overnight shifts. In two cases, controllers have been fired.

"It's tough to see controllers facing firing when the problem of (midnight) shift sleep deprivation has been acknowledged by the FAA," said Rick Perl, a retired controller in Oxnard, Calif. "Sacrificial lambs is how it feels to me."

In a sixth incident, a controller working an overnight shift was suspended for watching a movie on a portable DVD player while he was supposed to be monitoring air traffic. Present and former controllers have told The Associated Press that it's not unusual for controllers on overnight shifts at radar facilities when traffic is light to watch movies, play online poker, and read magazines to help them stay awake.

The alternative, they said, is to spend eight hours in a dimly lit room staring at a radar scope while trying not to fall asleep. The controllers asked not to be identified so as not to jeopardize their jobs or the jobs of coworkers.

Industry and labor officials give FAA Administrator Randy Babbitt credit for doing more than past agency chiefs to address the fatigue problem. Last year, the agency proposed the first new limits on work schedules for pilots in decades. But industry-supported legislation in Congress, if passed, could create major obstacles to the rules becoming final.

Babbitt also signed a contract with the National Air Traffic Controllers Association in 2009 that, among other things, required the agency create a working group with the union to address controller fatigue. FAA held off on its plan to allow sleep or rest by controllers during their shifts when not working air traffic to allow the working group time to address the issue, said spokeswoman Laura Brown.

In January, after a year and a half of work, the group briefed Babbitt on 12 recommendations. One was that controllers be allowed sleeps breaks for as long as two hours when working overnight shifts. Sleep experts say scheduled naps during night shifts — especially between about 1 a.m. and 5 a.m. when even well-rested people naturally crave sleep — help keep workers alert when they return to their duties.

Another recommendation was that controllers be allowed to sleep during the 20 to 30 minute breaks they typically receive every few hours during day shifts. Currently, the FAA forbids sleeping on the job, even during breaks.

Babbitt was "abundantly enthusiastic about us moving forward," said Peter Gimbrere, who is spearheading the controllers association's fatigue effort.

But the administrator and Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood flatly rejected both nighttime naps and on-break snoozes after publicity about controllers falling asleep.

"We don't pay people to sleep at work at the FAA," Babbitt told AP last week. "I don't know anybody that pays anybody to sleep unless you're buying people to have sleep studies."

Patrick Forrey, a former president of the controllers' union, called that position "unfortunate and political."

"People think, 'Why are we paying people to take a nap?' " Forrey said in an interview. "It doesn't necessarily play well with the public, especially in an economy like today."

Paul Rinaldi, the current controllers association president, said Friday that he intends to press the FAA to adopt all 12 recommendations.

"The recommendations are based on advice from NASA and the military and in line with international air traffic control best practices," he said in a statement. Actions the FAA has taken recently to address the fatigue problem — adding a second controller on overnight shifts at more than two dozen airports and giving controllers an extra hour between work shifts — have "barely scratched the surface," he said.

FAA is reviewing the recommendations, Brown said.

Curt Graeber, a former NASA scientist who conducted FAA-funded sleep studies of pilots, wasn't surprised that the FAA hasn't embraced napping for controllers. Graeber was a member of an FAA committee in the early 1990s that drafted an advisory to airlines permitting pilot napping and setting out ground rules.

"We thought everything was fine. We submitted the draft advisory circular (to the FAA), everyone agreed with it, and then everything stopped," said Graeber, now chairman of the International Civil Aviation Organization's fatigue task force. But other countries and the European Aviation Safety Agency used the FAA draft circular and research to write their own regulations permitting pilot napping, he said.

Many pilots acknowledge privately that they've dozed off in the cockpit at times, especially while cruising when the workload is light. But critics say there's greater risk in not having two pilots available at all times than there is that a pilot may doze off.

Graeber disagreed. "Look at it this way" he said, "would you rather have your pilot taking a nap while you are having your steak in the back (of the plane), or falling asleep on the approach into Hong Kong?"

Meanwhile, the FAA's committee working on new work rules for reducing fatigue among aircraft maintenance workers "is going nowhere," said safety consultant John Goglia, a former NTSB board member who began his career as an airline mechanic.

Airlines don't want new rules because they would complicate their scheduling and they'd have to hire more people, he said. Unions also don't want new rules because "they're working tons of overtime to make up for the pay cuts that they took."

But that doesn't mean mechanics aren't struggling to stay awake, especially during slow periods, Goglia said.

"Everybody who works nights in aviation knows if you're not busy you're going to fall asleep because you're chronically fatigued," he said.

___

Associated Press writer Ray Henry contributed to this story.

MSNBC.com article on Air Traffic Control

Air traffic controllers need fortitude in demanding job
'To be good, you have to have some kind of compulsive behavior,' veteran controller says

By Bill Briggs

msnbc.com contributor
When Miami's clouds turn foul and a parade of incoming pilots start demanding new routes, Jim Marinitti stares hard at the string of white blips on his black radarscope. He instantly rams his thoughts four moves ahead. He inches forward in his chair. The race is on. 

"You can feel like you're not even breathing," says Marinitti, an air traffic controller of 24 years. Up in the pilots' seats, visuals vanish. Air space is squeezed. In a dim room 16,000 feet below, Marinitti radios his directions in soothing, staccato tones — steering, separating and sequencing the jets, hustling each gently to the ground before the storm swamps the airport. He's working an airborne chess game on multiple tiers, in four directions, at 200 mph.

And, in Marinitti's world, that's known as the best half hour of the day.

"It's addictive. You'll have highs during the arrival pushes. Heart rate is up. Adrenaline is flowing. Then there's a lull and you look forward to that next push," he says. "Working traffic, some people describe it as a video game. And I can say, it's the coolest video game in the world. But it's a game you can't lose."

Air traffic controllers — so many of whom crave the controlled frenzy of their jobs — have nonetheless been painted in a series of recent media reports as dozing, sleepy-eyed slackers. At least seven times this year, controllers have been caught napping at work. The incidents sparked new rules to help keep controllers alert during graveyard shifts — and caused Hank Krakowski, the head of the Federal Aviation Administration's Air Traffic Organization, to resign.

The reality? They are, to some extent, an admittedly weary bunch whose natural sleep patterns are often disrupted by ever-changing schedules that constantly bounce them between day, evening and midnight shifts, according to some flight controllers.

But to an equal degree, they describe themselves as obsessed with safety and super self-critical — rapid-talking, snap-thinking, proud perfectionists. They are a pack of alpha personalities who can watch and converse with dozens of flights while typing totally different sets of data into their keyboards and simultaneously firing off salty zingers to their co-workers.

A different breed

"Controllers are a different breed of people," says Ron Geyer, a certified professional controller who works at the Southern California Terminal Radar Approach Control — the world's busiest pocket of air, handling Los Angeles, San Diego and roughly 60 airports in that area. Geyer, an 18-year veteran of the job, manages all the arrivals at Los Angeles International Airport during his eight-hour shifts.

When the controllers in his building (which is not a runway tower) go on their 25-minute breaks, they lug their Type-A personalities along, Geyer said. Some walk circles on an outside track, furiously pumping their arms "like they're in the Olympics." Others plow through books, flipping each page after just a few seconds.

"Everybody's compulsive. They're either a neat freak or they smoke 17 packs a day," Geyer said. "To be good, you have to have some kind of compulsive behavior."

Workdays are typically marked by fast bursts of scheduled departures and landings spaced by calmer stretches when flights trickle in and out. But that pattern is sometimes hurled into disarray by one fickle foe: the weather. Storms can snarl and rattle the otherwise orderly swarm of jets aloft, forcing controllers to devise new paths and fresh plans on the fly.

"When it's clear out, that's called 'wide-open visual.' Which means we can just pump the airplanes onto that concrete — safely of course," Geyer said.

"When the weather decreases, and pilots can't see each other, that's when our job gets more difficult," he adds. On drizzly days, his radarscope shows aircraft "strung out like pearls. There are probably 40 planes lined up … We have to maintain [proper airspace] separation … We know when we're driving into work, if it's cloudy or rainy, we're going to get our asses kicked."

'We cannot fail'

Space and precision are everything. Saying "nine" instead of "niner" on the radio earns a demerit. Smaller planes must always be kept at least six miles behind jumbo jets. And for all aircraft, the standard minimum spacing is 1,000 feet vertically and three miles longitudinally or laterally.

"Even if it's a wide-open, clear day, that doesn't mean when I'm leaving work everything is good for me," Geyer said. "I may have had somewhat of a traumatic experience … Now, safety was not compromised. But if we break the [minimum-spacing rules], it's like we just put two airplanes together. We just failed and that hurts. Even though everything is fine, no, I just failed. We cannot fail … And we're always being monitored."

In jobs where mistakes may cost lives, some workers are "pre-wired" to handle the intense, inherent responsibilities — that is, they enter the field with brains built to help them naturally manage the pressure, said one stress expert.

But after years spent in that kind of high-wire profession, "I do think it takes a toll" on all workers, says Dr. Tracey Marks, an Atlanta psychiatrist and psychotherapist.

"It takes a tremendous amount of fortitude to be able to work under that kind of pressure all the time," Marks says. After years spent working in that type of perfectionist environment, "people can get depressed — and that's probably the most common result — which can manifest in irritability or just not outright having much pleasure; so they're going through life, kind of trudging through their days. You also can have people develop a lot of anxiety but who then try and treat themselves with alcohol or something else. It's the kind of thing that builds up over time."

At terminal radar approach facilities like Geyer's, most workers keep bottles of water at their stations to battle parched mouths and dry throats that come with constant jabbering. Some water jugs hold five gallons. Every workspace also is equipped with a cup holder for hot coffee which — according to Geyer — is never "strong enough."

Controllers can leave the premises to grab a quick meal or they can munch snacks in a break room or cafeteria but, many times, they gobble burritos while maneuvering planes. During day and evening shifts, the darkened rooms are filled with the low hum of controllers chatting with pilots via their headsets. The dress code is casual. Cell phone use is not allowed.

When his shift ends, Geyer tries not to take the rigors of the job home with him, although he admits his patience is thin: If an after-work movie hasn't grabbed his attention in two minutes, he leaves. Marinitti, meanwhile, says he hates standing in lines, participates in triathlons for relaxation, and acknowledges: "When you get off work, your mind is still going at same speed."

Decisions, decisions

"I don't want to talk anymore," says Marinitti, who works at Miami International Airport, after a long day on the job. "You go home and you're asked what you want for dinner. You say, 'I really don't care.' You're tired of making decisions. A controller spends all day making decisions — turn left, turn right, clear for landing, clear for takeoff, and by the time you're done, I don't want to make anymore decisions. I'm done."

Not surprisingly, midnight shifts are the harshest hours, Marinitti adds. Flights are few — if any — and the adored adrenaline rush is nowhere to be found. He and a co-worker will trade off taking short breaks: simply walking around or sipping coffee before returning to their screens.

"You are fighting to stay awake. I'll stay awake, but you never know how alert a person is," he says.

An FAA study, done in tandem with NASA and the flight controllers union, recommended in January that the nation's 15,475 air traffic workers be allowed to take nap breaks of up to 2 1/2 hours during overnight shifts, as long as another controller remained on duty. Researchers also suggested that controllers sleep for 20- to 30-minute breaks during the day. But U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood nixed the ideas , saying "On my watch, controllers will not be paid to take naps."

An FAA spokesman was asked Friday morning whether it is, indeed, fair to say that controllers, as a group, perform at high standards despite their challenging work conditions.

"We won't be able to provide anything on that short deadline," said FAA spokesman Jim Peters e-mailed back two hours later. "If headquarters decides to provide a statement, we'll e-mail it to you."

Said psychiatrist Marks: "We know shift work wreaks havoc on your circadian cycle and your sleep. Shift workers do not sleep well." In February, Marks published a book titled, "Master your Sleep." Strategically planned naps "would help make up for the lost sleep. I think it's a shame that they wouldn't be allowed to nap (on breaks). They need to refresh in order to to function." Controllers will continue to doze off at their work stations if the DOT policy is not changed, she predicted.

"We're hoping this recent fatigue study will help push us over the edge as far as being able to take short naps on our regularly scheduled breaks," Marinitti says. "All the science is behind us. But I guess it's a political hot potato.

"On my own break, at 3 in the morning, what do you care if I go for a walk, get something to eat, or take a 20-minute power nap? As long as I return to work when I'm supposed to and I'm alert."

Bill Briggs is a frequent contributor to msnbc.com and author of the new nonfiction book, "The Third Miracle."