Metabolic Dominance

The Pentagon is working on supplements that could reduce soldiers need to sleep or eat.

There are precedences to such a drive, e.g. German infantry and Japanese Kamikazes were fueled by amphetamines in WWII; these efforts are more like high end Yuppie snack food and less likely to give you a heart attack.

Excerpt from Noah Shactman's article:

"At the Army's Natick Soldier Systems Center, a prototype First Strike Ration (PDF) has been developed, to supply high-energy cuisine that needs no preparation. The meal includes a trio of small sandwiches, "zapple sauce" -- a carbohydrate-enhanced apple mush -- and caffeinated gum, according to Natick combat feeding scientist Diane Wood. The center has also funded research into transdermal patches that would deliver nutrients, just as nicotine patches give ex-smokers their fixes.

Finally, Natick handed out grants to study how certain herbs might enhance endurance and mental alertness. Dave Gangemi, the director of Clemson University's Institute for Nutraceutical Research, received a three-year, $900,000 grant to examine the effects of echinacea and other plants. He believes extracts from the herb can be added to rations -- and that should give soldiers an extra oomph."

For more reading:

http://www.fas.org/irp/agency/dod/jason/human.pdf
http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2004/02/62297
http://www.wired.com/wired/archive/15.03/bemore.html?pg=3&topic=bemore&topic_set=
http://www.darpa.mil/DARPATech2002/presentations/dso_pdf/slides/BielitzkiDSO_v4.pdf
http://www.nhne.org/news/NewsArticlesArchive/tabid/400/articleType/ArticleView/articleId/2737/Default.aspx