[FT] Naval Manpower

Interesting article on Northrops new naval designs

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A5236-2002Apr29.html

In relation to the new Destroyer Class design it states:

"Under the plan, sailors' standard of living also would be drastically 
improved. For example, three-tier bunk beds would be replaced with 
staterooms shared by as many as three sailors and outfitted with
computers 
and Internet connections. Crew sizes would drop from 300 to 125, then 
eventually to 95. "It allows the Navy to free up a lot of resources," 
[defense analyst Jay] Korman said.

Questions arising from this:

1. What kind of % of total personnel is there is each area of operations
on 
board a military naval vessel?

2. Presumably there as some tasks manpower is always needed for, that
can't 
be automated. What kind of tasks would these be, and what plausible
sci-fi 
elements could lead to these being done by automation?

3. Also presumably you need 2-3 times the number of people needed to do
all 
the jobs. Does anyone see this aspect of crew requirments as ever being
able 
to change?

4. Would crew comfort, health etc. be a bigger concern in space, and
would 
this lead to larger vessels or smaller crews; or shorter deployment
times?

Any thoughts?
Donogh

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