I recall a line from a military Science Fiction story. A recently graduated cadet is taken to the Officers Club by his new CO. Cadet is given shot after shot of whiskey, with “down the hatch” toasts to the service, the ship, the unit, etc. CO tells cadet, “First we will teach you how to drink. Later you will learn why we drink.”
On the other claw, while I was in combat, or rather in a combat zone, I rarely drank alcohol. Frankly, I was not too confident of my reflexes; I didn’t want to do anything that might slow me down, or put my aim off, when SHTF. I think I had one beer in 7 months of combat assignments, and that was coming back off a 3 day patrol. Best beer I ever tasted!
Now obviously, most of the men I served with did not follow my practice. I got into a fight with one of the men in my platoon when he came back from the EM Club drunk the night before we were to go out on patrol. The platoon sgt reamed me out for injuring him; according to him, *I* was sober, and should have been more responsible and in control, both of myself and of the situation.