Little seems to deter McCaffrey, however. He travels constantly. He works until 1 a.m. on a regular basis, relying on five hours of sleep a night. His personal staff works nearly as long. And he has established a comfortable office environment for himself, which is to say a military culture.
Time is measured on the military clock.
Staffers write IPRs, the interim progress reviews so favored in the service. McCaffrey thinks of people as being commanders, line guys, or staff guys, terms with military definitions. He barks orders. He penalizes those who don't perform to his standards by not talking to them for a month or more. And yet he also inspires awe because of his talent for marshalling so many numbers and facts in his mind and his ability to captivate audiences with forceful and colorful speeches that lay out every detail of the complex problems in fighting drugs.