Watch.

This is coolbert:

"ye french and Indians had murthered ye People of Skinnechtady; haveing got into ye Towne about 11 or 12 a Clock there being no Watch Kept (ye Inhabitants being so negligent & Refractory)"

The Schenectady Massacre - - 1690. French/Indian irregulars, attacking under cover of darkness the English/Dutch settlement of Schenectady. Destroying the town, murdering or taking hostage the inhabitants. French/Indian marauders whose successful attack greatly relied upon the absence of any sort of sentry or guard!!

Watchfulness, alertness, wakefulness, vigilance are all attributes of the military sentry. Attributes enhanced by the use of stimulants [artificial or otherwise]. caffeine, yerba mate', amphetamines [??]!

It is intuitively obvious that a sentry or guard, improperly performing his duty [falling asleep] during combat operations, is a most serious offense. A crime, the punishment for [during a time of war] - - is death!! A crime, an offense, especially egregious in nature, imperiling the entire unit, a violation against the collective!!

Here from the current U.S. Uniform Code of Military Justice [UCMJ]:

"ARTICLE 113. MISBEHAVIOR OF A SENTINEL OR LOOKOUT"

"Any sentinel or look-out who is found drunk or sleeping upon his post, or leaves it before he is regularly relieved, shall be punished, if the offense is committed in time of war, by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct"

You can receive the death penalty in wartime, for sleeping on guard duty, EVEN IF NOTHING UNTOWARD OCCURS DURING YOUR WATCH!!

The death penalty for a military man falling asleep while standing watch is an ancient "tradition"?

The ancient Romans for instance, applying their severe, authoritarian and draconian military penal code, almost always, perhaps without exception, meted out death for sentries and guards "misbehaving" while standing watch!!

"the standard penalty in the Roman legions for falling asleep while on guard duty was death"

Indeed so strict was the military penal code of the ancient Romans, Christian scholars have pointed to the "faultless attention to duty, especially during the night watch," as an indication that SOMETHING MIRACULOUS OCCURRED TO THE BODY OF JESUS AFTER HIS CRUCIFIXION!! The Roman soldiers noted for their extreme diligence would not have allowed the body of JESUS to be whisked away while under their guard!! So goes the argument, believe it or not!!

"First, consider the Roman guard the Jewish authorities so thoughtfully placed around the tomb, complete with the imperial seal (Matthew 27:62-66). The Roman guards were extremely capable soldiers. The death penalties threatened upon soldiers sleeping while on guard duty produced discipline and a 'faultless attention to duty, especially during the night watch,'"

Keep alert, keep awake, keep vigilant, or else. And drink that yerbe matte' too!!

coolbert.