I remember being struck in an account of the Abbeville Kids about the amount of alcohol those pilots consumed, and how early in the day they started. There certainly didn't appear to be any "bottle to throttle" rule for them.
I flew helicopters in Vietnam, 1971-72. The twelve hours between bottle and throttle rule was observed. Sometimes I flew with a hungover pilot (the whump-whump-whump of the rotors was torture!) but never with an incapacitated one. We drank beer after the mission day was over, but you'd better hit the deck at oh-dark-thirty when the OD woke you (one hour from wakeup to startup). BTW, alcohol consumption was a healthy sign: the dopers and heads never touched the stuff. And yes, it helps to relax.
Last year I was deployed near Afghanistan. General Order Number One: no alcohol. Fine, I can lay off for a year. But when I asked the commander (one star) whether GO1 was for the troops' welfare or simply not to offend the Muslims, he snapped, "Of course it's so we don't offend the Muslims!"
Stay-awake pills for pilots is one thing, but High Wired Huns is new to me.