Mortar platoons and sections must fight without stopping for long periods. Under these conditions performance suffers. The mortar leader uses several methods to conserve and prolong his soldier's combat effectiveness. G-1. Continuous operations are possible by the mechanization of land combat forces and by technology that permits effective movement at night, in poor weather, and in other low-visibility conditions. Combat continues around the clock at the same level of high intensity for long periods.
Armies now have the potential to fight without stopping.
Sustained operations are used when the same soldiers and small units engage in continuous operations with no opportunity for the unit to stand down and little opportunity for the soldiers to catch more than a few minutes of sleep. Continuous operations do not always involve sustained operations if enough units or individuals within units are available to allow everyone to get adequate rest. The confusion, stress, and lethality of the modern battlefield place a burden on the infantryman's endurance, courage, perseverance, and ability to perform in combat. Mortarmen conducting combat operations must perform complex collective and individual tasks without adequate sleep and under stress. All soldiers experience the fear of death or being wounded, or the fear of failing in the eyes of one's comrades.